Postcards from the Edge (1990)

Postcards from the Edge Poster

Substance-addicted Hollywood actress, Suzanne Vale is on the skids. After a spell at a detox centre her film company insists as a condition of continuing to employ her that she live with her mother, herself once a star and now a champion drinker. Such a set-up is bad news for Suzanne who has struggled for years to get out of her mother's shadow, and who still treats her like a child. Despite these and other problems, Suzanne begins to see the funny side of her situation, and also realises that not only do daughters have mothers—mothers do too.

Introduction
"Postcards from the Edge" is a 1990 comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The movie is based on Carrie Fisher's semi-autobiographical book of the very same name, which followed her drug dependency and triumphant recovery during the late 1970s. The movie variation further checks out the tough mother-daughter relationship in between the lead characters, played by Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine.

Plot Overview
Meryl Streep plays Suzanne Vale, a talented starlet who lands herself in a drug rehab center after a near-death experience with drug abuse. On her course to healing, her movie manufacturer puts a condition that she must live with a responsible individual, resulting her in moving in with her mother, Doris Mann, played by Shirley MacLaine. Doris was a previous Hollywood star herself and now a rather unforeseeable and self-absorbed figure whose overpowering shadow has actually constantly provided struggle for her daughter.

Characters and Relationships
As Suzanne relocations in with Doris, the film incisively explores and lays bare their tough, complex relationship filled with bitterness and competition. The crux of the film focuses on the underlying love and bond between mother and daughter despite all their distinctions and disagreements. Throughout the movie, they typically clash over their personal and expert lives. A series of occurrences make Suzanne's method back to her career bumpier, consisting of a failed love affair with a man who utilizes her as a stepping stone for his own career.

On the other hand, Doris seems as preoccupied with her own profession just like her daughter's life. She's still basking in old Hollywood splendor and periodically making appearances in the film market. Doris' complicated character is potently portrayed by Shirley MacLaine who defends her versus charges of being a narcissistic, attention-seeking-mother, while still allowing glances of caring issue to sneak through.

Styles and Symbols
"Postcards from the Edge", portrays the theme of personal and expert battle most plainly. The recovery procedure, the effort to rebuild a profession, the stretched mother-daughter relationship, and balancing in between personal life and expert needs are vividly portrayed throughout the film. The additional theme of the suffocating impact of living in the shadow of an effective parent brings depth to this movie and the primary character's battle.

Conclusion
"Postcards from the Edge" got much applause for its daring autobiographical nature and its humorous and yet painful depiction of dependency and recovery. Both Streep's and MacLaine's performances are an emphasize of the film, sensible, funny and mentally raw, forming the heart of this story. The film checks out through its characters, the different colors and tones of human feelings, relationships, and the battle of being a lady in an unforgiving industry. It skilfully weds humor with gritty reality, offering an amusing yet thoughtful view of living, working, and enduring in Hollywood.

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