SYNOPSICS
Cookie's Fortune (1999) is a English movie. Robert Altman has directed this movie. Glenn Close,Julianne Moore,Liv Tyler,Chris O'Donnell are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1999. Cookie's Fortune (1999) is considered one of the best Comedy,Drama movie in India and around the world.
Cookie's Fortune unfolds over an eventful Easter weekend in the small town of Holly Springs, Mississippi. The town residents are peaceful, kind folk -- with the exception of Camille Dixon -- a pushy theatre director with an incredibly shy younger sister, Cora, whose estranged daughter Emma has just returned to town. On the heels of her latest play, Camille is shocked to discover that her Aunt Jewel Mae "Cookie" Orcutt has committed suicide. Terrified at the thought of how this will tarnish the family name, she eats the suicide note to make it look like a burglary. This set-up leads the police to one main suspect, Willis Richland, who also happens to be Cookie's best friend. Although the rest of the town is convinced Willis didn't commit the crime, an outside investigator isn't so sure. As Easter Sunday and opening night of the play arrive, the truth comes out, revealing more secrets than anyone could have possibly imagined.
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Cookie's Fortune (1999) Reviews
Holly Springs, MS - What a Great Place to Live
Robert Altman has an affinity for the South, and "Cookie's Fortune", reveals that it is gentle, pleasant and relaxed. Set in small town Mississippi there are none of the typical Hollywood stereotypes of flaming racial hatred, sexual oppression, and class bigotry. Well, not much at least. The characters in Holly Springs all know and like one another regardless of their race and social standing. Well acted by a great ensemble cast that portray an 'Altmanesque' kaleidoscope of small-town characters, most of whom are eccentrics. The plot revolves around the suicide of Cookie, a matriarch of one of the town's leading families. Since suicide is considered disgraceful, two of her nieces, upon discovering her body, cover it up to make it look like a murder. And then an innocent man becomes the prime suspect and...off we go. Ok, so it's not as 'deep' as many of Altman's films, nor as dark either. But that's not bad, and "Cookie's Fortune" is a very enjoyable movie. I recommend it highly for a Saturday night rental.
One of Altman's best
It's hard to believe a film this sunny came from Robert Altman, and is also this good, but there you go. While I love some of his films, like M*A*S*H, MCCABE AND MRS. MILLER, NASHVILLE, THE PLAYER, and SHORT CUTS, there are times when I feel he has a fundamental contempt for his subject matter, like in THE LONG GOODBYE and POPEYE, and for his characters. But while this movie, well-written by Anne Rapp, is essentially a Tennessee Williams drama turned inside out (Glenn Close's character is the only one who seems like a refugee from Williams territory), we instead feel a great deal for each of the characters. Even Close's Camille, whose machinations end up in the temporary jailing of an innocent man for a crime that never was, is somewhat likable. When Altman is on, we really get a sense of community and place, as opposed to movies which are just a triumph of production design, and this is no exception. The best example of this is how Lester(Ned Beatty), a deputy sheriff, sums up his reasons for why Willis(Charles S. Dutton), that innocent man referred to earlier, is innocent of killing Cookie(Patricia Neal); "I fished with him." In another movie, that line of reasoning would be ridiculous, but since you feel all of these people have known each other for years, it seems just right. And the rhythms of the town feel right as well, so you don't feel like you're just watching a filmed set. Casting has always been a hallmark of Altman films, and this one is no different. Charles S. Dutton is as good as they say, being more restrained than usual, Close shows great comic timing in her role, and Julianne Moore is very good as her put-upon younger sister, who has a lot more to her than meets the eye. And Altman regulars like Beatty and Lyle Lovett are quite good as well. The most surprising turns came from Liv Tyler and Chris O'Donnell. I've liked Tyler before(in HEAVY, EMPIRE RECORDS, and THAT THING YOU DO!), but to imagine her with shorn hair playing a rebel who skins fish for a living was a bit much, to say the least, but she's utterly convincing. O'Donnell has always seemed too callow, but here he's quite funny as a deputy sheriff who's seen way too many cop shows. And he and Tyler have nice chemistry together.
Delightful wry comedy with excellent cast
I loved this wry comedy that takes place in a small Mississippi town where everybody is, at least outwardly, friendly with everybody. It was directed by the late Robert Altman (1925-2006), who also gave us M*A*S*H and Nashville, and much more. Terrible title, however. It has nothing to do with fortune cookies, or cookies of any kind. The fortune refers to the assets that the heirs of a family matriarch, whose nickname is Cookie (Patricia Neal), will inherit when she dies. One of the little comedic touches I appreciated were the historical markers in the town, one of which I think read "nothing historical occurred at this spot." I enjoyed the treat of four generations (each about 20 years younger than the next) of noted actresses in one film. In addition to movie legend Patricia Neal (1926-2010) who won an Oscar for Hud, Glen Close (who has had 6 Oscar nominations so far) played Camille Dixon, Cookie's over-bearing theatrical-obsessed niece. Four time Oscar nominee Julianne Moore played Camille's subservient and perhaps dim-witted younger sister Cora Duvall. Cute Liv Tyler (who was Arwen in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) is Emma Duvall, Cora's estranged daughter. Charles S. Dutton is great as African-American Willis Richland, who is kind of a genial gentle care-taker for Cookie. At the end of the film we learn he is more than a friend. Famed singer Lyle Lovett plays a spooky peeping Tom character who is interested in Emma. His role didn't seem to be fully developed and didn't contribute much to the film. Chris O'Donnell plays a Barney Fife type sheriff's deputy, except he is very good looking and is romantically involved with Emma. Cookie, who's mind is beginning to go, misses her late husband and kills herself to be with him. Camille Dixon discovers the suicide and initially is shocked and horrified that people will learn that her aunt killed herself (nice people don't commit suicide) and affect Camille's social standing. So she makes it look like a thief murdered Cookie. But once she does that her horror turns to appreciation. She now can move into Cookie's grand house. But she hadn't counted on anyone in the town becoming a murder suspect.
A nice place to visit...
What would it have been like had Tennessee Williams -- for some unfathomable reason -- been hired to write a script for "The Andy Griffith Show?" This is hardly a pressing question for either amusement or intellectual debate, but the answer would surely be something very much like Robert Altman's COOKIE'S FORTUNE. This is undoubtedly Altman's most accessible and likable effort. It is set in Holly Springs, Mississippi, but it could just as easily be Mayberry, North Carolina. Both are in a fantasy world just north of Sitcomville and across the ridge from Capratown. In Altman fashion, Holly Springs is populated with variety of oddball folk, but in contradiction to Altman tradition, they mostly tend to be free of cynicism and malice. Andy, Opie, Barney and Aunt Bee would feel right at home. Indeed, there is even a town jail where the cell doors are left unlocked, all the better to allow visitors to come and go as they please. The hypothetical contribution by Tennessee Williams is nonetheless apparent as well. There is a murder mystery, a suicide, a bit of gore, a dash of sex, some racial consciousness and Glenn Close, whose character might be a second cousin to Blanche DuBois. But these elements of dark and twisted madness aren't all that removed from the cheerful eccentricity that is a trademark of fictional smalltown America. As such, COOKIE'S FORTUNE falls somewhere between SHADOW OF DOUBT and THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN in its representation of bucolic life; there is a cheerful silliness to the characters, but tragedy darkens the edges just a tad. No one would ever accuse Altman of being the sentimental type. His screen career has consisted largely of taking pot shots at the American landscape, aiming to reveal hypocrisy behind everything from patriotism to idealism, with his preferred vehicle of deconstruction being the conventions of various movie genres. He has taken a wrecking ball to everything from the backstage musical to film noir to westerns to sci-fi. Yet he approaches the Capraesque vision of smalltown American with a gentle good humor, refraining from indulging in either parody or satire. COOKIES FORTUNE is probably the only Altman film where the characters are characters, i.e., loopy individuals, not archetypes to be debunked or mocked. I'm an admirer of Altman's films, but I have to admit that I am hard pressed to think of any other instance where I felt actual affection for any of his characters. Alas, Altman's visit to Holly Springs is no doubt a side trip in the director's journey from one "important" film to the next. A chance to stretch his legs a bit before getting back to the serious business of showing how corrupt the world is. That's a shame, because Holly Springs is a right nice little place to visit.
A pleasant surprise, to say the least! Cookie is a wonderful, rich work from Altman with great characters, performances, story, music and writing!
Cookie shoots herself. Glenn Close discovers the body and the suicide note. Being a theatrical director, she decides this will not do... She invents a scenario for how a burglar might have murdered her. What she didn't expect was for the police to find a suspect... Everything just goes completely right in Cookie. The atmosphere really gels, the cast are cohesive, the plot situation is interesting and its subtextual implications on suicide is also fascinating. Its actually an Altman film you feel like delving into. The amateur production of Salome the community are putting on is one of his most interesting devices. It gets you thinking of rhythms that run through the film, of suicide and human existence. Also, Glenn Close's being a theatrical director, and carrying those skills into everyday life, to fairly extreme measures in the film, is an interesting subtext - commenting on the director/author as God. Altman's regular themes of the small town and the weather are here - the weather once again reminding us of a higher force we have no control over. I thought it was a fascinating, enjoyable film. I laughed out loud many times - mainly at just fun little aspects of the characters. Which is why it was such a pleasant surprise that Cookie's Fortune was not only an enjoyable movie, its actually a really great one. 10/10. One of Altman's best, and my favourites so far.