Bessie and Lee are in a room together and Bessie is arranging her paralyzed father’s medicine in a tray. Lee grudgingly acknowledges (mentally) that Bessie has given much of her lifetime to their father’s care. But now if Bessie dies of leukemia, the responsibility will be thrust on her. She is in a tizzy. At the same time, Bessie has endeared Lee and her son Hank. So much so that Lee feels she is able to reach out to him now (he was in a mental asylum for burning down her house). Bessie has had an episode when they are out at Disneyland.
As Bessie lifts the tray and is moving out, she suddenly loses balance and falls to the floor beneath. The contents of the tray are all splattered around. Lee instinctively lunches forward to help her up. It is then that Bessie looks at Lee with the most poignant eyes.
A look that speaks volumes! At once she is appealing to her elder sister for empathy. Those years of neglect. Her unswerving attention to her paralyzed father, which even took away her small pleasures. The unspoken beseeching look which is imploring Lee to take stock. The manifest insurmountable vagaries of life unfolding at the moment. And the fact that Love is the answer. All this is conveyed by that single look. Truly, it is Diane Keaton at her absolute best. In fact, it is no longer about Bessie communicating with Lee, but the situation and the superb playacting, which is taking you to your real self. You discover that all those thoughts and the resultant emotions and feelings are actually within you waiting to unfold. The pictures become a medium, but the realization is already within.
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