Great casting

I saw this film last night at the Female Eye Film Festival. One of the most difficult things to do in a film that spans the lifetime of an individual is to get actors who look and behave like each other. One such film was A League of Their Own, in which Geena Davis played the young Dottie Henson, but in which another actress played Dottie at a much older age. I had to look carefully to convince myself that the older Dottie was not Geena with really good makeup.

In The Stone Angel, Christine Horne plays the young (but not the child) Hagar, while Ellen Burstyn plays Hagar in the 60- to 90-year-old range. At her youngest, Horne looks very youthful. But as they age her into her forties, she looks more and more like Burstyn. Then, at one point, they cut to Hagar just a few years older, using Burstyn herself. The transition is nearly seamless; and again, you have to look closely to confirm that a change actually has taken place.

In speaking with director Kari Skogland, I discovered that Horne sat in on most of the scenes that Burstyn filmed, learning her mannerisms and inflections. This training paid off well, in that the viewer was not jarred by the appearance of another actor; Burstyn appeared as the logical progression from the younger Horne.

All in all, a very well done film.