The Prince of Tides (1991 Barbra Streisand)

Written by Pat Conroy (with lots of involvement from Barbra) and Becky Johnston, from the former's novel. It sort of feels novelly.

Good story about how psychiatrist helps a troubled brother unpick his family scars. Rather long, with perhaps too much focus on largely irrelevant affair between Streisand and Nick Nolte (good), should have concentrated more on repairing things with Blythe Danner, whose intended marriage just fades out of the story. It would have made it shorter, too.

Sub-story involving Nolte's relationship with her (real life) son Jason Gould is touching. Jeroen Krabbe (King of the Hill) is a bit pantomime villain nasty. Kate Nelligan.

The flashback revelation is quite a shock when it comes. There's no anticipation, which I wondered whether was right or wrong. The kids' story the sister Melinda Dillon has written might have provided an ominous clue (it's appearance is not integrated that well).

'You're being musiced at!' I warned Q, near the end (it's by James Newton Howard). Photographed by Stephen Goldblatt and edited by Don Zimmerman, production design Paul Sylbert.

Great violin passages by Pinchas Zuckerman.