NHFF Drama “Diane” Tells Tale of Loss and Regret

“Do you think we’re all going to live forever?”

Diane, which festival goers had the opportunity see Friday evening at the Music Hall, is a narrative drama directed by Kent Jones, produced by Luca Borghese, Ben Howe, Caroline Kaplan, and Oren Moverman, and written by Kent Jones. Starring Mary Kay Place, Jake Lacy, Estelle Parsons, Andrea Mitchell, and Deirdre O’Connell.

Diane tells an all too familiar story of hardship, regret, and family. The film follows female protagonist Diane (Mary Kay Place) who spends her time caring for her cousin who is dying of cervical cancer, volunteering at her church’s soup kitchen, and trying to help her drug-addicted adult son, Brian (Jake Lacy).

As Diane watches her friends and family die, and her son dragged deeper into his opiate addiction, she reaches a breaking point when she is confronted with her own regrettable past. Slowly, Diane comes face-to-face with a deep loneliness that is only amplified by the bleak backdrop of rural Western Massachusetts.

Throughout the film, special attention is drawn to the dwindling presence of familial community.

Diane’s Aunt remarks, “When we’re kids, we think everyone’s going to live forever.”

When we soon later see Diane in her old age, we are given a hardened dose of realness in place of the happy movie ending we were all holding out for.

By Steph George