The Spitfire Grill (1996)

**_After prison, a young woman plants herself in a New England town_** Shot in the late spring of 1995, this is a drama similar to “Heavy,” which was released three months earlier in 1996. Another reference point is “Signs of Life” from seven years prior. While this one resorts to cinematic contrivances in the last act, I favor it over those two (although “Heavy” places a close second). The film successfully brings you into the lives of a circle of people in the hilly countryside. Gene Siskel criticized that these characters are all too “colorful,” but I didn’t see that. They struck me as the typical people you’d find in any pastoral place in the Northeast (or anywhere, for that matter). The story focuses on protagonist Alison Elliott’s relationships with the surely café owner (Ellen Burstyn) and a meek waitress/cook (Marcia Gay Harden) as she entertains romantic possibilities and compassionately helps a wraithlike character living in the woods. Hovering around all of this is a well-meaning guy played by Will Patton, the husband of the waitress. Two years later Alison starred in “The Eternal” (sometimes subtitled “Kiss of the Mummy”) where she’s just as effective. The locations are lush and beautiful whilst the tone is reverent. Although you might roll your eyes at some tropes in the last act, the film is thematically rich. It leaves you reflecting; and the insights are biblical. It runs 1 hour, 57 minutes, and was shot in areas around Peachem, which is located in northeastern Vermont, about 10 miles southwest of St. Johnsbury, a 2-hour drive west of Mt. Washington. GRADE: B+/A-