Lianna 1983 Movie Review

『A Quiet Revolution of Becoming Oneself Through Love』

🎥 Movie Overview

🎬 Title: Lianna (1983)
🌍 Country: 🇺🇸 USA
🎞️ Genre: Drama / Queer / Coming-of-age
⏳ Runtime: 110 minutes
📢 Director: John Sayles
🖋️ Screenplay: John Sayles
📺 Platform: Kino Lorber, Criterion Channel, etc.

👩‍💼 Cast: Linda Griffiths – Lianna Massey
Jane Hallaren – Ruth Brennan

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Spoilers)

🧍‍♀️ Isolation Within Family and Inner Conflict

Lianna is a mother of two, living what appears to be a stable life with her husband Dick, a college professor. Yet beneath this exterior, she feels deep isolation as her emotions and desires are ignored. Dick is absorbed in his own academic success, showing indifference toward her inner struggles. This dynamic gradually leads to identity confusion and a restless search for self within the confines of marriage.

📚 The Encounter with Ruth, Opening the Door to Self

By chance, Lianna takes a psychology course at a local college and becomes captivated by Professor Ruth Brennan’s free-spirited and open-minded approach. Though initially overwhelmed by unfamiliar emotions, Lianna finds herself drawn into a new world of self-discovery. A dinner with Ruth becomes the turning point when their mutual feelings can no longer be hidden. Their cautious romance marks Lianna’s first step toward self-acceptance.

🦋 Emotional Resonance and Meaning

🌈 Homosexuality as a Catalyst, Not an Endpoint

The film’s greatest strength lies in how it does not reduce Lianna’s identity to her sexuality. As director John Sayles remarked, “This is not ‘An Unmarried Gay Woman,’ it is ‘Lianna.’” Homosexuality functions here as a catalyst for her new identity and independence, not as the defining result.

• Oppression of Marriage: Lianna’s marriage is suffocating, marked by her husband’s intellectual arrogance and patriarchal attitude. Confined to the roles of teaching assistant and mother, she loses her own sense of identity.

• Personal Liberation: Her relationship with Ruth goes beyond romance. It opens a door where Lianna can finally acknowledge and express her emotions and desires, reclaiming herself as an autonomous human being.

🎬 Depiction of Social Isolation

The film portrays with realism the social repercussions a middle-class American housewife faced when coming out as a lesbian in the early 1980s.

• Double Standards: Dick, despite his own numerous affairs with students, condemns Lianna’s homosexuality as “unnatural” and throws her out. He distorts her sexual identity when speaking to their children, reinforcing his power advantage.

• Betrayal by Friends: Even her closest friend Sandy becomes uncomfortable and distances herself, leaving Lianna stripped of her former social foundation and thrust into loneliness.

• Hope and Pain Coexist: Along with liberation comes isolation. Working as a supermarket cashier and cautiously exploring connections at a lesbian bar, Lianna faces the painful reality of how difficult the journey to self-discovery can be.

🎥 Ruth’s “Imperfections” and Their Realism

Lianna’s first love, Ruth, is not an ideal liberator. She already has another partner and worries that her relationship with Lianna could damage her career, revealing a realistic and self-centered side.

• Repeating Patterns: Ironically, Ruth mirrors Dick in some ways — they met in a professor-student dynamic, and she engages in an affair despite having a partner, echoing the destructive patterns Lianna experienced before.

• Ground for Growth: Ruth’s flaws cause Lianna yet another heartbreak, but paradoxically, they empower her to stand as an independent lesbian without dependence on any one relationship. Ruth ultimately remains a “teacher” figure who guided Lianna toward self-awareness.

📚 Lianna’s Courage

Lianna stands out in early 1980s American independent cinema with its naturalistic dialogue and direction. Sayles’ screenplay is subtle yet precise, while Linda Griffiths’ performance captures the raw emotions of confusion, awakening, pain, and liberation with authenticity.

The film breaks away from the then-common trope of “homosexuality ending in tragedy.” Despite loss, the protagonist finds strength in affirming herself and rebuilding her life, offering a hopeful conclusion. Even forty years later, it remains pioneering and relatable, a nuanced study of character and an exploration of the value of independence and self-discovery.

The most powerful message of this film is embodied in Lianna’s courage to risk everything in order to reclaim her life.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥♥♥
⭐ Overall Rating: ★★★