TV • PAGE 27
THE BULLETIN • FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021
BY JAY BOBBIN
‘The Prince of Tides’ is a Streisand
show on both sides of the camera
Barbra Streisand doesn’t sing in “The Prince of Tides,” but that’s about the only thing she didn’t do on the
movie.
Famous for her perfectionism, the entertainment icon nominally was the female lead, the director and
a producer of the 1991 version of Pat Conroy’s widely loved bestseller (streaming on Hulu). Realistically,
though, you just know she had her hands in every aspect of the production no matter whose name was on the
respective job. And more power to her, since the result is a moving and particularly well-cast drama of family
wounds that don’t quite heal.
Since Streisand doesn’t show up until well into the story, the audience’s entry point into it is Tom Wingo
(an accessible, superb Nick Nolte), a maritally troubled Southern athletic coach whose problems increase when
he learns his poet sister Savannah (Melinda Dillon) has attempted suicide in New York. Their mother (Kate
Nelligan) – with whom he has strained-at-best relations – implores him to go north and see what he can do to
help with her recovery.
That quest acquaints him with Dr. Susan Lowenstein (Streisand), Savannah’s sophisticated but
compassionate psychiatrist. She and Tom, who believes he has no use for psychiatry, are at odds initially .... but
eventually and inevitably, they warm to each other, leaving him to ponder his future with his wife Sally (Blythe
Danner).
The names of the actors already mentioned should indicate the strong cast “The Prince of Tides” boasts.
Add to them Jeroen Krabbé as Lowenstein’s philandering concert-violinist husband, comedian George Carlin
as a neighbor and friend during Tom’s Big Apple stay, and Streisand’s real-life son Jason Gould as her on-screen
offspring.
One of the biggest and most pleasant surprises “The Prince
of Tides” offers is the chemistry between Streisand and Nolte.
Despite their obvious differences as performers, they work together
remarkably well, with Nolte having to become more and more
vulnerable as Tom struggles to hide dark Wingo family secrets that
ultimately can’t be denied.
Streisand and cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt earn special
kudos for the look of the film. Whether the setting is South Carolina
or Manhattan, the picture has a rich and romantic sheen that helps
cushion some of the rougher aspects of the tale. (A favorite shot of
ours: Tom jogging through a New York fish market at dusk.)
Only two other features have been directed by Streisand – “Yentl”
before it, and “The Mirror Has Two Faces” after it – but her skills
in that role are evident. “The Prince of Tides” certainly is a major
Barbra Streisand in
“The Prince of Tides”
example, and if she doesn’t direct again, it will stand as a testament
to just how good she was at literally calling the shots.
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