Household Saints

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Household Saints
Directed by	Nancy Savoca
Written by	Richard Guay
Starring	Tracey Ullman Vincent D'Onofrio Lili Taylor
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Running time	124 minutes
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
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Household Saints is a 1993 film starring Tracey Ullman, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Lili Taylor. It was based on the novel by Francine Prose and directed by Nancy Savoca. The film explores the lives of three generations of Italian-American women over the course of the latter-half of the 20th century.

The first-half of the film follows the courtship and marriage of Catherine Falconetti (Tracey Ullman) to local butcher Joseph Santangelo (Vincent D'Onofrio), as well as Catherine's relationship with her overbearing Old World mother-in-law, played by Judith Malina.

The second-half of the film focuses on Catherine and Joseph's daughter Teresa (Lili Taylor). Teresa is a devout Catholic more similar to her superstitious grandmother than with her modernized and secularized parents. As a child and young adult she puts herself through a series of trials so that she might one day be canonized as a saint. Teresa's teenage fantasy to become a nun (spiritual bride of Christ) is strained after starting a relationship with a marriage-minded young man (Michael Imperioli).

The film explores both personal, family dynamics over the course of time as well, on a larger level, the relationship between religious faith and modernity and the possibility of modern-day miracles.

Although the film met critical success and features performances by a number of celebrities, it has as of yet only been released on VHS with no public plans for a DVD release.

[edit] Casting

Director Nancy Savoca cast many favorite New York actors for the film which was not shot in Manhattan's Little Italy - but at DeLaurentis/Carolco (now EUE Screen Gems) Studios in Wilmington, NC.