by Frank Calvillo
This kicks off a new feature we’ll be doing this month, as Cinapse writers and friends pick their favorite films to watch at holiday time (not necessarily holiday movies). Inspired by the late Slackerwood’s Holiday Favorites, among which you can read past picks from Frank and me. — Elizabeth
While this little-seen entry from the early ’80s leans more towards the tragic, there’s still plenty of warmth and joy to be had as well in Six Weeks. Wealthy businesswoman Charlotte (Mary Tyler Moore) and her ballerina daughter Nicole (Katherine Healy) have everything a mother and daughter could possibly want, except time. Nicole is dying from Leukemia and has very little time left. When the two encounter political hopeful Patrick (Dudley Moore), the three strike up an unlikely friendship. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the trio sees their bond grow stronger as they venture all over New York City, taking Nicole to every single sight and even watching her dance The Nutcracker in this unconventional holiday tale.
Yes, the plot sounds like a mash up of something to be found on Lifetime and Hallmark, but there’s great emotional weight and depth to Six Weeks. Both Moores get to exercise their dramatic acting chops, for which both actors had been lauded for in the past, yet never got to see fully utilized. Newcomer Healy (a real-life ballerina making her sole film appearance) is simply tremendous as Nicole, using her instinctive acting gifts to deliver one of the most poignant performances ever given by any child star.
Directed by Tony Bill, Six Weeks does indeed go for the heartstrings, but does so in the most honest and beautiful of ways. The scene at the dinner table with the three main characters proclaiming they’ll be together for always in one way or another is the epitome of heartwarming. While most holiday entries tend to be shamelessly sentimental, every emotional moment in Six Weeks comes from a genuine place. Added to the proceedings is the male Moore’s exquisite (and Golden Globe-nominated) score and the overall romantic notion of strangers from different walks of life encountering each other for a brief, yet meaningful space of time.
