Bette Davis fans might not like A Piano for Mrs. Cimino, but I stuck with it because my mom insisted it was a good movie. On my own, I probably would have turned it off. She's given an irregularly cut gray wig to make her look unkempt, coke bottle glasses to make her look confused, and starts off the movie being carried out of her house screaming. She's put in a hospital, stripped of her dignity, tied in a straight jacket, and incoherently sits through a hearing where she's deemed mentally incompetent and sent to an old folks' home. This is not the type of role her fans want to see her in.
If you don't mind, or just want to see her in a very meaty role during her sunset years (to redeem herself from the horror flicks), you can keep watching. It's a very sad topic that is unfortunately realistic. Old people go through hard times (Bette's husband has just died) and their kids assume power of attorney and send them to a home - when young people go through hard times, they get sympathy and therapy. Thankfully, Bette's devoted and smart granddaughter, Alexa Kenin, finds an innovative and unorthodox rest home run by Penny Fuller. Penny believes that old folks' minds atrophy from lack of use, and in her home, the residents go to classes to revive their little gray cells. If and once they recover, they have a graduation ceremony and return to their lives or start anew with independence. If more retirement homes were run like this, imagine the possibilities!
My favorite part of the movie was seeing Bette reunited with Keenan Wynn, her devoted (onscreen) husband from Phone Call from a Stranger. There were scenes that were hard to watch, since I love Bette and don't like to see her suffer. There is a very upsetting scene where she finds herself a victim of an elaborate financial scam. It's frightening for anyone, young or old, and it's deplorable that these villains frequently target old people to try and steal their money. But I'd rather see Bette suffer and act than ham her way through Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.
