Editing Lianna

{{Short description|1983 film by John Sayles}}
{{about|the 1983 film|other uses|Lianna (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Lianna
| image          = Lianna poster.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[John Sayles]]
| producer       = Jeffrey Nelson<br/>Maggie Renzi
| screenplay     = John Sayles
| narrator       = 
| starring       = [[Linda Griffiths]]<br />[[Jane Hallaren]]<br />Jon DeVries
| music          = [[Mason Daring]]
| cinematography = Austin De Besche
| editing        = John Sayles
| distributor    = [[United Artists Classics]]
| released       = {{Film date|1983|1|18|United States}}
| runtime        = 110 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $300,000<br>(estimated)<ref name="sayles">Gerry Molyneaux, ''John Sayles'', Renaissance Books, 2000 p 111</ref>
| gross          = $1.5 million<ref name="sayles"/>
}}
'''''Lianna''''' is a 1983 [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] written and directed by [[John Sayles]] and starring [[Linda Griffiths]], [[Jane Hallaren]], and Jon DeVries.<ref name="Lianna">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/81302/lianna#credits|title=Lianna|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]] ([[Time Warner]])|location=[[Atlanta]]|access-date=August 3, 2017}}</ref> Additionally, It marked [[Chris Elliott]]'s film debut.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 5, 2007 |title=Chris Elliott |url=https://www.avclub.com/chris-elliott-1798212893 |access-date=November 1, 2023 |website=The A.V. Club |language=en}}</ref>

==Plot==
{{more plot|date=June 2015}}
Lianna is married to a college professor in film and media at a university in a midsized [[New Jersey]] town and has two children. In order to give her husband the greater freedom he wants and address her boredom, she takes a [[child psychology]] class with her friend, Sandy.

Becoming more involved in the class, she realizes she has a crush on the instructor, Ruth. Ruth invites Lianna home for dinner and they talk into the night, Lianna explaining that she was a [[graduate student]] and married her professor. They eventually begin an affair, complicated by Lianna's husband's affair with a student. Lianna expresses interest in leaving her husband for Ruth, but Ruth backs away, warning Lianna that living with another woman would jeopardize her career and that she has a partner in another city.

Lianna leaves her husband after a fight to live alone for the first time in years. She visits a [[lesbian]] bar and attempts to connect with other lesbians through affairs to explore her new identity. The film explores her loneliness, her changing relationships with her children, and her new relationship with Sandy, who is shocked at Lianna's revelations at first, but slowly begins to accept it and support Lianna. Lianna also gets a job as a [[supermarket]] cashier.

Ruth leaves town and Lianna's life to California for another teaching job. Despite now being alone, Lianna and Sandy reconcile in the final scene which mirrors the opening scene of Lianna and Sandy talking at a park playground.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Linda Griffiths]] as Lianna Massey
* [[Jane Hallaren]] as Ruth Brennan
* Jon DeVries as Dick Massey
* [[Jo Henderson]] as Sandy
* Jessica MacDonald as Theda Massey
* Jesse Solomon as Spencer Massey
* [[John Sayles]] as Jerry Carlson
* Stephen Mendillo as Bob
* Betsy Julia Robinson as Cindy
* Nancy Mette as Kim
* [[Maggie Renzi]] as Sheila
* Madelyn Coleman as Mrs. Hennessy
* [[Chris Elliott]] as Lighting Assistant
* [[Rochelle Oliver]] as Betty
}}

==Reception==
===Critical response===
The staff at ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' gave the film a positive review and wrote "John Sayles again uses a keen intelligence and finely tuned ear to tackle the nature of friendship and loving in ''Lianna''." They especially praised the acting and the supporting characters' reactions to Lianna's lesbian affair.<ref>{{cite news|title=Review: Lianna|url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117792568.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0|access-date=January 25, 2008|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=December 31, 1982}}</ref>

In his ''[[New York Times]]'' review, Vincent Canby wrote: "Though Mr. Sayles's methods are antidramatic, the film is full of the kind of middle-class desperation that seldom finds its way into movies, where emotions are usually bigger than life. ''Lianna'' is never dull but it is so finely tuned that one has to pay attention to receive it properly. It doesn't knock you off your feet, slam you against the wall or leave you gasping for breath. It's civilized."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |date=January 19, 1983 |title="'Lianna', Faculty Wife with Marital Woes" |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/19/movies/lianna-faculty-wife-with-marital-woes.html |access-date=November 1, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In a joint review of ''Lianna'' and another John Sayles film, ''[[Baby It's You (film)|Baby It's You]]'', [[Michael Sragow]] commented that Sayles has his strengths but is considerably overrated, and compared both films unfavorably to his earlier ''[[Return of the Secaucus 7]]''. He elaborated that ''Lianna'' is too ideologically single-minded while failing to offer any new insight or perspective on the subject of lesbianism. He also criticized the "truly embarrassing audiovisual montages", citing as an example the lesbian love scene being accompanied by the sounds of the women whispering in French.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Sragow |first=Michael |title=Lianna and Baby It's You|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=June 9, 1983 |issue=397|page=52|authorlink=Michael Sragow}}</ref>

Reviewing ''Lianna''{{'}}s release on DVD, film critic [[Glenn Erickson]] called it "daring" and "sophisticated". He found the film's strongest point to be that rather than becoming a "melodrama" of scandal, it focuses on the protagonist's isolation and self-discovery. By his analysis, the film "sidesteps position statements and stresses intimate character touches. ''Lianna'' doesn't ask us to condemn or condone anything, but simply to be understanding and sympathetic with each other."<ref>[https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s963lianna.html Erickson, Glenn]. ''DVD Savant'', film review, November 18, 2003.  Last accessed: January 25, 2008.</ref>

Critics Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat wrote: "The screenplay by John Sayles is both congenial and wise... Viewers are sure to find much to savor in the moral and emotional confrontations. ''Lianna'' muses upon love, friendship, and camaraderie in a fresh but unspectacular way. It is an appealing movie worth experiencing."<ref>[http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/films.php?id=8842 Brussat, Frederic and Mary Ann]. ''Spirituality & Practice'', film review, 1970–2007. Last accessed: February 28, 2008.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0085838|title=Lianna}}
* {{Mojo title|lianna}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|lianna_2001}}

{{John Sayles}}

[[Category:1983 films]]
[[Category:1983 drama films]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:Films directed by John Sayles]]
[[Category:Films shot in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Films set in New Jersey]]
[[Category:1983 LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:Lesbian-related films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by John Sayles]]
[[Category:Films scored by Mason Daring]]
[[Category:1983 independent films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language drama films]]