Practical Magic, the film adaptation of Alice Hoffman’s novel, is an intriguing blend of family, love, and magic. With its intoxicating mix of witches, magic spells, a rambling old seaside mansion, and a zombie thrown in for good measure, this is the perfect film to enjoy during the Halloween season.
The story concerns the Owens women, a family of witches who have been feared and ostracized for centuries by the citizens of their small New England town, because they all have a gift–the gift of magic.
As the film begins, the eccentric Owens aunts Jet (Dianne Wiest) and Frances (Stockard Channing) tell their young orphaned nieces Sally and Gillian the tale of the Owens family curse. Over two hundred years ago, their Aunt Maria (the first witch in the family) was spurned by a lover, so she put a spell on herself, never to fall in love again. Over time, the depths of her despair turned the spell into a hex: any man that falls in love with an Owens woman is doomed to an untimely death.
We soon learn that the family curse has claimed the life of Sally and Gillian’s parents (the sound of the “death watch beetle” heralded the death of their father, and their mother died of a broken heart.) The young Owens girls grow up in a rambling, rather spooky old Victorian mansion, learning spells and watching their aunts practice the craft (when the aunts concoct a spell for a lovesick woman, Sally vows “never to fall in love” and Gillian declares “I can’t wait to fall in love!”)
In time, the more traditional, conservative adult Sally (played with low key charm by Sandra Bullock) experiences the family curse. She marries her sweetheart (Mark Feuerstein) and they have two daughters, but one day Sally hears the sound of the “death watch beetle”, a harbinger of doom for her husband’s impending death. She tries in vain to rip up the floorboards and stop the sound of the ticking beetle; however, she’s too late: at the same time, her husband is killed in a tragic accident.
In a moving scene, the grieving Sally falls to her knees and begs her aunts to bring her husband back. The aunts know how to do this, but refuse to do so, as it violates their sense of how the craft should be practiced (this illustrates one of the film’s themes, the importance of using our unique gifts responsibly.) They explain that if they did bring back husband Michael, he wouldn’t even be the same person she loved. He’d be something dark and unnatural (hmm, this line is a foreshadowing of things to come…)
Widowed Sally moves back into the mansion with her two small children, vowing that her daughters will never “cast” (she herself has vowed to never use her own powers.) She falls into a deep depression, refusing to leave her bed. Sister Gillian, the wild free spirited gypsy witch, has long flown the coop, but senses there is trouble afoot, so she heads back home to visit Sally.
Nicole Kidman has a lot of fun playing the uninhibited Gillian; her joy is infectious and she nicely balances the more serious, responsible Sally. It’s not surprising that livewire Gilly soon rouses Sally right out of her funk (the scenes between Gillian and Sally are often moving, and a lot of fun to watch.)
Sally attempts to rebound and rebuild her life, but trouble follows the sisters. Problems develop when Gillian’s relationship with her over possessive boyfriend Jimmy (Goran Visnjic) turns abusive. She calls Sally to come rescue her, but Jimmy kidnaps the two sisters, and they wind up killing him in self defense (but is he really dead?)
Sally finds herself very attracted to the investigator (Aidan Quinn) who comes to town to question them about Jimmy’s disappearance. This sets up the film’s central conflict: will Sally stay in the shadows (afraid to love and denying her gifts) or will she fully use her powers, and take a chance again on a new relationship.
Kidman and Bullock are believable as the two sisters, but the guys don’t make much of an impression here. Visnjic and Quinn are capable actors but they don’t linger in memory after the closing credits roll. They fulfill their most important purpose as plot devices for the sister’s journey, but the sisters have more chemistry with each other than they do with their lovers (this is highly forgivable in a film about female bonding.)
Channing and Wiest are colorful as the Owens aunts and make the most of their roles without going over the top (they seem to relish playing these wise, older witches.)
The Owens house plays such an important role here that it almost seems like another character in the movie. Unable to find a mansion that met their needs, the filmmakers decided to design and construct it themselves. With San Juan Island in Washington State standing in for a small New England seaside town, production designer Robin Standefer designed a rambling Victorian home, and every detail was very carefully considered to give the house a timeless appeal. The finished set met with Alice Hoffman’s approval (she very much appreciated its magical qualities.)
Producer Denise Di Novi and screenwriter and co-producer Robin Swicord previously worked together on the film Little Women. Griffin Dunne’s direction heightens the film’s sense of beauty and mystery, but he never gets too dark or heavy handed with the often macabre material. Through his eyes, we see that magic arises from everyday circumstances (and that falling in love might be the greatest magic of all.)
“The story is about loss and feeling different” says Hoffman in the “Behind the Scenes” section of the DVD. Other special features include cast and crew information, trailers, TV spots, and commentary by Bullock, Dunne, Di Novi and composer Alan Silvestri.
Underlying the story of “practical magic,” are messages about dealing with loss, triumphing over adversity, and celebrating and owning our unique gifts in life, using them for the highest good (recognizing that these gifts or “powers” sometimes make us “different” or misunderstood by others.) Sisterhood, honoring family ties, and the importance of personal empowerment and a sense of identity are also strong themes here, adding a deeper layer of meaning to this fun, fanciful film.
Above all else, the movie shows us that our character and our personal happiness are determined by how we face our life circumstances; by showing courage and confidence in our gifts, we can find love and conquer our personal “demons.”
If you are looking for a fun and intriguing film for autumn, try Practical Magic–it might just cast a spell on you…
