25th Anniversary: Prince of Tides (1991)
Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at 1:02PM by Eric Blume
Twenty five years ago, director Barbra Streisand delivered her big-screen adaptation of the Pat Conroy novel The Prince of Tides for Christmas. The film went on to win the Best Actor Golden Globe for Nick Nolte, as well as seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture (but famously not a Best Director nod for Streisand).
Looking at the film now, The Prince of Tides feels like a remnant from a lost Hollywood genre: the mainstream, gimmick-free adult drama. Streisand’s instincts lean to the commercial, and she’s fully devoted to the film’s rather banal psychobabble that purports how one good solid cry can heal a childhood rape. The script may be as deep as a raindrop, but it has its strengths as well, and they’re strengths that align with Streisand’s own...
The first five minutes of the picture essentially sum up the best and the worst of the movie. On the clumsy side, we hear some terribly on-the-nose narration from Nolte, an intrusive and syrupy score, and some embarrassingly over-composed shots of the North Carolina sunsets against her child actors. But Streisand legitimately sees life through this kind of old-fashioned, Hollywood lens. And she uses that investment to lure us into the tale and its Southern Gothic atmosphere. Streisand knows how to drive a compelling story, and once you accept her style, this movie-movie becomes absorbing and satisfying.
Streisand guides Nolte to one of his most surprising and effective performances. As a character actor, Nolte has spent most of his career playing down his looks, but here Streisand films him in classic handsome leading man style. Initially, Nolte seems to be overplaying the Southern accent, but over time he makes you believe how alien he feels in New York City, and how he is unable to escape his innate Southern-ness. He’s gloriously charismatic, relaxed, and funny, and he finds a truly startling moment during his big breakdown scene, where he becomes a little boy again in front of our eyes. It feels daring and weird in such a big studio movie like this, and it’s the highlight of the picture. He probably came close to winning the Oscar that year had it not been for fava beans and a nice Chianti.
The other highlight remains the fierce work from Kate Nelligan as Nolte’s mother (she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress). We see her as the younger version of her character (where she has a ripeness and fearless sexuality about her) and in makeup as the older version (in full Lord-and-Taylor-at-the-Boca-Raton-mall glory).
Streisand fumbles clumsily here and there in the New York scenes (where she allows some comically awful ambient dialogue in traffic and outdoor scenes to show how “crazy” the city is). But she keeps this Southern-fried epic on the rails until the final half-hour, when she dips into uncomfortably indulgent romantic schmaltz with the central love story. A section where Nolte and Streisand escape to a country cottage goes on for almost a full ten minutes where absolutely nothing happens except the two of them kissing in a sea full of candles. And Nolte tells Streisand she’s beautiful at least three times in the movie, each time to a coquettish demur, and it’s uncomfortable and sad to witness.
One could quibble at length about Streisand’s actual performance, but the bigger point remains that she’s grossly miscast. In Tides, Streisand seems intent on making herself seem “real” and that’s simply not a trait that comes naturally. Plus, Streisand’s onscreen persona is built upon her being special, a creature who isn’t “like us”. She’s one of the last of the Hollywood stars who felt actually larger than life, that we wouldn’t meet in our everyday, and who felt born for the screen as a result. Her confrontation scenes with her real-life son Jason Gould (who gives a lovely performance as her onscreen son) feel like phony movie versions of what was possibly a real-life dynamic. His casting should bring a depth and intimacy to the scenes, but somehow Streisand seems miscast as his mother… she comes across more like a very efficient nurse or one of his mentors from the JCC.
Barbra's "Tides" men: Jason Gould & Nick Nolte
What The Prince of Tides does maintain, twenty five years later, is a sweep and a grandeur, plus a pulse to the storytelling. It’s a product of its time, and while the love story feels mushier than ever, Nolte’s journey still has a sting and a vibrancy that hold steady.
Reader Comments (33)
One of the worst movies ever! WTF TFE???
Wow. I had no idea I missed this film.
Not the worst movie adaptation of a fantastic book, but I really hated Streisand in this.
Hey--what happened to Kate Nelligan? She was a very good actress in this and Eye of the Needle.
The heart of the novel is the childhood storyline-- all of the stuff in NYC is just a framing device. Sadly, Streisand decided to focus on the NYC scenes-- and the character she was playing. I'd like to see the movie that could have been if she had cast someone else as the psychiatrist.
The movie's a huge disappointment, but I agree that Kate Nelligan is great in it.
Really mediocre movie with great performances by Nolte and Nelligan. Idk what happened to Streisand here
Kate Nelligan: a great Lucy to Frank Langella's Dracula.
Eric, you really captured what works and doesn't work about this crazy movie. Streisand's directorial approach is a classic style that makes for compelling viewing. Unfortunately, she doesn't have the skill to probe deeper into the psychological currents of this disturbing story. Nolte is marvelous here, and he has a remarkable chemistry with her. He should have won the Oscar. But his big scene is botched as the camera pans from his breakdown up to Streisand's single, crystalline tear. WHY did she do that? Princess of Tides indeed.
The book was a terrific epic that Streisand efficiently pared to cinematic length, preserving the impact of the major themes but losing much of the emotional nuance. Still, this is damn watchable.
This movie is so bad it's embarrassing. I don't see why Streisand felt the need to be validated as a director. A best-selling singer and an actress with some gifts is not enough?
She can't direct a scene to save her life. I am not sure she is bad here because she is miscast. I think she directs everything in an artificial way and some actors overcome her artificiality.
Kate Nelligan never found to the role that would have made her a star. She was great in "Dracula" (1979) , "Therese Raquin" (1980) "Eye of the Needle" (1981) . "Prince of Tides" is like a Warner Brothers Bette Davis movie from the 40's- Streissand has the Claude Rains role
Eric, I think you assessment was quite valid. Thanks for remembering it.
A few thoughts in random order... Jason Gould was very good and too bad he did not continue to develop his acting skills. Jason also put out out an EP of songs a few years ago that was very impressive and sold well. He sang with his mom in concert and on her "Partners" collection. He is very talented. Rumor has it it if finally back in the recording studio with of all people... Quincy Jones!
Back to TPOT, the love montages were too long and obviously a sexual showcase for Barbra, she can be sexy and we get it. Remember, the youthful Streisand in "What's Up Doc?" was smokin' HOT. Great film and top notch comic performance from Barbra. Her comic gifts are right up there with her vocal talents.
Too bad that Barbra did not ultimately sharpen her talents as a director, "Yentl" was a terrific directorial debut TPOT was quite good. I often wish she was a true working director.
BTW the supporting females in the three films BJS has directed received Oscar nominations.
She excels at directing her co stars. Many feel that her directing skills would be even greater if she choose a project that she did not star in.
Most of TPOT is very watchable and does have an epic grand feel. I salute Barbra on all her gifts. Too bad that it looks like her final film will be "The Guilt Trip", a film that she was truly delightful in.... but the script and director and editors ultimately failed her and the film.
Recast Streisand's part,I go Weaver or Close.
Hah - coincidentally and randomly I just watched this for the first time a few days ago.
And I mean, wow.... It's like so-bad-it's-good-but-then-the-badness-just-keeps-getting-more-and-more-intense-until-it-starts-spinning-out-of-control-to-perform-a-full-360-and-become-basic-elemental-badness-all-over-again.
Streisand is so narcistically awful in this role, it's a whole new category of awfulness.
LOL at the notion of someone voting for this film as the top 5 of anything in any year.
Nonetheless I feel like it at least makes for a fabulous drinking game. (Take a sip every time Streisand's eyes twinkle in faux-humility! And every time Nolte grumbles about how "you people up here just won't let me go back home"! And down the whole damn bottle for that stunningly tasteless/unconvincing rape scene.)
Also, it did make me wax nostalgic over the lost Hollywood genre you mention: the mainstream, gimmick-free adult drama.
Is this the movie where she has sex with her patient? That is grounds for losing your license to practice psychology in all 50 states.
I think Nolte is superb in this. He should have won the Oscar (with Hopkins winning Best Supporting Actor). The film as a whole is as Eric said.
Kate Nelligan had quite a year that year, with her Oscar nomination for this and winning the BAFTA and National Board of Review Best Supporting Actress awards for Frankie and Johnny.
So much of what Streisand does fascinates me in its bad taste. This movie is no exception.
Your psychologist shouldn't also be your friend, client or sex partner. That’s because psychologists are supposed to avoid relationships that could impair their professional performance or harm their clients.
One type of relationship that’s never acceptable is a sexual relationship with a current client. And even though sexual relationships that occur at least two years after therapy ends may be technically acceptable, they can still be harmful. Barbra was and is ... Nuts.
I like this movie a lot and I love the novel. Nuff said.
I LOVE this movie. I think the love story is central in to the novel, the last words in both are Lowenstein.
I thought everything about this movie worked and Streisand directed it beautifully.
you know what's craziest and most awful about this movie in retrospect? It surely cost THELMA & LOUISE a Best Picture nomination. The Academy was weirdly willing to chuck whatever favorites they had had that year (but for Silence) for the holiday pictures. Prince of Tides was the last nominee to be released (on Christmas day)
I cringed from scene to scene watching this movie...Streisand was simply awful, the script and direction were nothing but schmaltz, I understand at one point Barbra thought of casting Michelle Pfeiffer in the lead which she SHOULD have. At least she's more authentic and skilled as an actress than Streisand ever will be.
As a child of the 90s, I only know this movie from the "Fear of Flying" episode of The Simpsons when Marge insists upon calling her psychiatrist (Anne Bancroft!) Lowenstein, and the SNL Coffee Talk sketch with Madonna and Roseanne as mother and daughter. "This is so Prince of Tides!" cries Linda Richman (Mike Myers). And then the real Barbra shows up and it is everything.
Having never seen it, my whole frame of reference of this movie as a kid was:
a) the outcry over Barbra not getting nominated for Best Director, and
b) the Simpsons episode where Marge sees a psychiatrist because she's afraid of flying, and leaves the therapist's office chanting.. "Lowenstein, Lowenstein, Lowenstein..."
Overrated.
Nolte was not Streisand's patient, his sister who tried to kill herself was. Streisand did not have sex with his sister.
I would definitely say that she crossed the professional line. He was breaking down emotionally in her office. And what the F is she doing sleeping with a patient's brother? Messy but not addressed.
My big gripe with Barbra is that she always wanted to be cast as the love interest of blonde, unattainable goys: Ryan, Robert, Nick. Her ego and self-love know no boundaries.
I love the Pat Conroy's book more than Streisand's filmic adaptation. Yet despite that, the film managed to locate authentic performances from Nolte, (and particularly) Nelligan, and even from Melinda Dillon, Blythe Danner, Jeroen Krabbe and Jason Gould. The shots of the boats in the harbor in The Prince of Tides would later become a standard in films that continue to cinematically adapt Nicholas Sparks books. By the way, The Prince of Tides was filmed in South Carolina where the story took place -- not North Carolina. Films based on Nicholas Sparks' novels are the ones shot in North Carolina where the stories take place.
I agree that Streisand is the weakest link among the cast. That love montage may have been acceptable in 1991, but it can also be viewed as excessive and the height of self-indulgence now and probably in the future (although film lovers 50 years later may call this film quaint and lovely). I am two ways about James Newton Howard's score. Its sappy concoction of minor chords did not age well but it also found a perfect balance in the last scene when Nolte was walking towards Danner in the beach. But then he had to do a voice-over after that scene, ending with the now parodied "Lowenstein, Lowenstein...." (Conroy wrote that line in his novel as well--just saying).
Had Kate Nelligan been nominated for Frankie & Johnny instead of The Prince of Tides, I wonder if she would have won. The Prince of Tides did not win at all in all categories it was nominated for.
@APA/@Juno - Nick Nolte's character was, technically, not Barbra Streisand's character's patient -- it was his character's sister who was the patient. But I get your point.
Anyway, this movie is life. So deliciously, devilishly late '80s/early '90s. (And Blythe Danner has the cutest Southern accent in it!)
This post also got me thinking about the other Streisand movies which have not aged well - the main event, all night long, funny lady, on a clear day, a star is born. I'm not sure why...maybe it's the script or the production value or just the exhausted theme involving her vanity/self-love (I think someone else commented on this). It's a pity as she showed so much potential early in her film career like Funny Girl and The Way We Were but grew to be one of the most mannered, self-conscious actresses as she moved along. I can't bear to watch her in those movies but I sure can enjoy that glorious voice of hers especially her 60s and 70s records.
I had Nolte on my ballot that night. I remember thinking: "They will never vote for a cannibal!"
Barbra Streisand as Manic Pixie Dream Girl to Nick Nolte.
I read this book before it was adapted into the movie, and I was massively annoyed that the actual Prince of Tides referred to in the book (Nick Nolte's older brother in the movie) was a side character, sacrificed for more Barbra and candle time. Ugh.
Nick did the role pretty well, as I imagined it the book though.
"Men get raped too!" -- I was so naive when I saw that movie for the first time. Guess that's why I loved it. Having said that, I was Team Thelma & Louise that year. Especially Team Louise.
Yes, some of the Streisand musicals like On a Clear Day, Funny Lady and A Star is Born have not aged well. However they all contain glorious musical numbers that outshine the completed films. In full force, certain musical sequences are worth the price of admission and fortunately we have them for future generations. Yentl is wonderful but considered a film with music not a traditional musical.
Also, let's not forget that Streisand more than excelled at screwball comedy such as What's Up Doc and even The Owl and the Pussycat. She definitely should have made more comedies. It will be very interesting to see where her film/directing career go from here....the clock is ticking....for all of us!
PS It is interesting that Streisand is such a polarizing subject in general. For decades she has unfairly been judged her on her politics or persona and not on her talent...
This movie is clearly all about Streisand which all of her movies are! No matter where the original material comes from, she will morph the material to her own advantage and blur the focal point of the story!