Household Saints

synopsis

Based on Francine Prose's fifth novel, Nancy Savoca's chronicle of a spirited Italian-American New York family perfectly balances humor, tragedy, and pathos. Vincent D'Onofrio's Joseph Santangelo is a butcher with a wicked sense of humor who "wins" his wife Catherine in a pinochle game. Over the protests of his mother who talks to ghosts and makes deals with saints, Joseph marries Catherine. When the old lady dies, her spirit is channeled into her granddaughter Teresa who overtakes the film with her yearning to serve God. Perfectly embodying a modern-day Bernadette, Lili Taylor imbues Teresa with a mix of dedicated innocence and naïveté. Executive produced by Jonathan Demme, with notable performances from Michael Imperioli, Michael Rispoli and Victor Argo, Household Saints represents a unique voice in 1990s independent filmmaking.