We related to the mother-daughter dynamic of wanting to murder each other one moment, and cuddling in bed giggling the next. Since we knew the neighborhood Aurora lived in, the affluent River Oaks, we felt a kinship with the characters, as if they existed within our universe. Mostly, we bonded over the film’s message that levity and sorrow can, and should, coexist. The theme is just part of the fabric of the movie, like Aurora’s petal pink décor or Emma’s messiness. At the time, Brooks said the adaptation of the novel ended up being the toughest thing he had ever written.

---

Persons: Aurora, “, ” MacLaine, Brooks, Mary Tyler Moore, ”, ” Brooks, Nicholson Locations: New England, Texas, Oaks