
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 27, 1993                   TAG: 9303270082
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THIS ROAD MOVIE MOVES WITH A STRONG HEART

It not only takes talent, it takes courage for actors to tackle roles that downplay their screen intelligence. We're not talking about tour de force performances that depict extreme mental deficiencies such as John Malkovich's interpretation of Lennie in "Of Mice and Men."

We're talking about more subtle performances, such as the one Michelle Pfeiffer gives in "Love Field." Pfeiffer has deservedly earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Lurene Hallett, a likeably unsophisticated Texas beautician, in this road movie that overcomes some unconvincing plot mechanics with good performances and an ultimate generosity of heart.

The time is 1963, and Lurene is someone the likes of whom we'll probably never see again: a person who worships the first family beyond all reason. She represents the age of political innocence that ended with the assassination of JFK and the countless scandals and revelations involving politicians that have occurred in the decades since.

Jackie Kennedy is Lurene's idol. She uses her adoration of the glamorous first lady to create her own personal style, and to ease the pain of losing a child and the disappointment of living with Joe Six Pack.

Rocked like the rest of the country by the murder, Lurene is determined to travel from her home city of Dallas to attend Kennedy's funeral. The journey is not only one of tribute to the family she venerates but a duty to her own sense of self. Her husband, a guy straight out of "Thelma and Louise," thinks she's lost her mind and forbids the trip. But Lurene's convictions are too strong to be denied, and she takes off anyway.

On the bus, the newly liberated Lurene attaches herself to a reserved black man named Paul Cater (Dennis Haysbert) and his taciturn daughter. Paul knows how the decks are stacked in the South of the early 1960s, and he's wary of this good-natured but slightly off-center white woman. With good reason.

Lurene's best intentions backfire. Before long, the trio is forced on a flight north that brings both danger and romance to Paul and Lurene, particularly in Tazewell, Va.

Director Jonathan Kaplan resorts to some implausibilities and predictable plot turns. Paul appears much too smart for some of the escapades that place him and his daughter in danger, and the law seems particularly inept in its pursuit across several states.

But the performances more than compensate. Pfeiffer doesn't allow Lurene to lapse into parody but gives this simple woman plenty of spirit to go with her large heart. Haysbert gives Paul the kind of shrewd awareness of the world that Lurene lacks; he's fully cognizant of the risks he's taking but too full of love for his daughter to do otherwise.

And Stephanie Janelle McFadden, the vulnerable little girl with the huge, sorrowful eyes, provides the emotional gravity that holds these two adults in her orbit.

\ Love Field:*** An Orion picture at the Grandin Theatre (345-6177). Rated PG-13 for violence and mild sexual content; 104 minutes.

by CNB