Hitchcoc Nick Nolte and his sister are damaged goods, but they don't know why. When the sister goes into therapy, Nolte's Tom Wingo meets the therapist played by Barbra Streisand. She is in an loveless relationship with an arrogant concert violinist husband. Wingo gets a second lease on life when he helps with the development of Streisand's son, teaching him "boy" things. The thing that keeps this going, however, is the secret that lies in the subconsciouses of the siblings. This succeeds because it is not clichéd with a pat kind of conclusion. The world is not simple and the issues here are not simple, and the solutions don't come cheaply.

vincentlynch-moonoi For me, the pleasure of watching this film again, now in 2012, is remembering just how fine an actor Nick Nolte was before he (well, I'll put it politely) "let himself go" (although my favorite performance of his was "Jefferson In Paris". But, this is a close second.Here, Nolte plays a teacher/football coach from the South Carolina coast, who is asked by his mother to go to New York City to help his sister, who has again attempted suicide. There, he works with his sister's psychiatrist -- Barbra Streisand -- to try to determine was leads the sister to her attempts at self-destruction. In sessions, Streisand plumbs the dysfunctional family in which Nolte and his sister grew up. A moderate number of flashbacks are used, some somewhat disturbing, and an abusive father and a weird mother. Meanwhile, Nolte's own marriage is dissolving. And, just to make it real fun, Nolte and Streisand develop feelings for each other. Finally, Nick reveals to Streisand that as a teen, 3 escaped convicts raped him and mother and his sister, and that his older brother shot 2 of the convicts, while his mother stabbed the other. The shock of the film is...well, best to let you discover that. Will Nick stay with Barbra? Will the sister recover? It's an excellent story by Pat Conroy, and it's difficult not to draw parallels with the kinds of work that Lillian Hellman once wrote.As I indicated earlier, Nick Nolte is superb...perhaps his finest performance. I was not as impressed with Barbra Streisand's acting here. Not that it was bad. It was fine. But I didn't quite buy into her as a psychiatrist, though I thought her scenes at the dinner party segment and her romantic scenes were excellent. And, I say that as someone who generally enjoyed her in film portrayals, and I actually feel she should have made far more motion pictures. But, I give her immense credit here for here work as producer and director and the film.Though not a large part, George Carlin is very good playing a "quite" gay friend of the sister's. All the actors do a nice job here, and it is worth noting that Barbra's son in the film really is Barbra's son.This is an excellent film with a sensitive performance by a once great actor -- Nick Nolte.

namashi_1 Nick Nolte Delivers A Terrific Performance in 'The Prince Of Tides'. In fact, even Nolte's worst critics would keep quite after watching his act in here.Directed by the Legendary Barbra Streisand, 'The Prince Of Tides' tells the story of the narrator's struggle to overcome the psychological damage inflicted by his dysfunctional childhood.The film is interesting in most parts, as the adapted screenplay is well-written. Streisand's direction is proficient. She handles the dark & gritty moments with maturity. Also, Stephen Goldblatt's Cinematography is striking. Editing is satisfactory.Performance-Wise: Obviously, Nolte steals the show. His Oscar-Nomination was so well-deserved. Streisand, even succeeds as a performer. She's very likable. Kate Nelligan delivers a sincere performance. Blythe Danner leaves a mark.On the whole, An interesting watch, with a stand-out performance by it's lead star. Check it out!

strainj1 I know it is a cliché, but as someone who read and loved the book, I find the movie to be an utter failure. Nolte does a fine job, but the 650 pg. novel is condensed down to 2 hours. This causes a lack of the subtlety and forshadowing which make the novel truly great. The focus is all wrong. Instead of focusing on the Wingo family and the telling of it's history, which in turn nurtures both Tom and Savannah back to peace and health, the focus is on the short relationship between Susan and Tom. This is not what the book had in mind at all. Thus key important figures in the novel, Savannah, Luke, Henry, and Lila, are glanced over. With Luke, perhaps the major protagonist of the novel barely being mentioned. Other important figures, like Amos and Tolitha are not mentioned at all. Instead of beautiful well crafted novel, in which nature, family, and the southern way of life are explored, and admired. We are left with a cliché romantic drama, with only two real characters. I know Pat Conroy received credit as the screen-writer, but I have to believe that this wonderful story was either butchered by Streisand in the director's chair or in the editing room. I really expected great things from this movie after reading the book, but it hits all of the high points with none of resonance of it's source. 3 out of 10 stars.