A Place for Annie [DVD]

This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Not only is it just a really sweet story, but it also has a wonderful message behind it. The acting was excellent and they got an adorable pair of twins to play the role of little Annie. This movie has a lot of sensitivity in it. It all starts when Susan Lansing, a nurse at a local hospital, takes in an abandoned baby. This child, who tested HIV-positive at birth, seems to have nobody who is willing to take her in--nobody except Susan, that is. With the help of a supportive teenage son and a devoted nanny, Susan is able to create a lovingly stable living environment for little Annie. Everything is turned upside-down a year later, when Annie's birth mother returns to claim her. Linda Marsten, the baby's mother, is clearly very young, and her husband has died as a result of drug overdose. Emotionally unable to hand Annie over to her drug addicted birth mother, Susan invites Linda to come live with them in their home. It is during this time that Linda creates a close bond with her child and comes to terms with everything that she left behind when she abandoned her newborn baby at the hospital. At the same time, Linda and Susan learn to put their differences aside and use their shared love for Annie to develop a sort of unsteady friendship with each other. At the end of the movie, it is Linda's selfless love for her daughter that leads her to make the most difficult decision she has ever had to make that will ultimately shape Annie's future. The movie really made me want to cry, especially at the part where Annie was taken away from Susan for the first time when Linda took her for an overnight visit. I think that Mary Louise Parker (Linda) did an EXCELLENT acting job in this movie. She really knew the part well, and she knew how to perform it. When she first appeared in the movie, all I kept thinking was, "I hope Annie gets to stay with Susan, not this woman." But as the movie went on, the viewer gets a chance to see that Linda is just a troubled young parent who feels the consequences for her wrongdoing and has a hard time accepting love from others due to her painful past with her own mother. This beautiful film touched my heart immensely, and it quickly became one of my favorite movies. This is a sweet, touching, and overwhelmingly emotional movie that I enjoyed every minute of. It has so much depth, and it has a firm handle on many real-life struggles and situations. If you haven't seen "A Place for Annie" yet, now is the time to do so.

I am a lover of the, 'Hallmark Hall Of Fame' movies because they are clean and family oriented. Movies like 'A Place For Annie' helped seal their place in my home. I have a collection of these wonderful films and I will continue to collect them.

'A Place For Annie,' is a true story about a head pediatric nurse, 'Susan Lansing' (played by Sissy Spacek.) Lansing gets attached to an infant patient, (Annie) who at birth tested positive for HIV. Little Annie was also born addicted to heroine and was deserted shortly after birth by her birth mother. When no one would accept this baby, with HIV, as a foster child Susan decides to become Annie's foster mother. She makes it her mission to give this terminally ill child a home and love for as many days as the baby has left.

This movie is wonderful. The performances by the cast are spectacular. The plot is touching and considerably strong. The overall movie quality etc, is well above average. Very few movies are powerful enough to bring such emotion as this film delivers. Through tear filled eyes, I watched as this story of `true miracles` unfolded. This movie illustrates the power of love and family and gives us the bitter with the sweet of real life. 'A Place For Annie,' is a movie to cherish, and I, BTW, highly recommend it to you. You will thank your lucky stars that you could, in some way, share in the life of Annie and her remarkable, adoptive mother.

I read recently that upon becoming a mother several years ago, Oscar winning actress Sissy Spacek pulled back considerably on her career and began accepting a few acting assignments a year, usually ones of (what she felt was) social significance. Obviously the role of nurse Susan Lansing, who takes in an HIV-positive infant as a foster child, filled that particular bill. A PLACE FOR ANNIE is a socially conscious a film as one could ask for. It is also an OK drama in and of itself, although hardly a masterpiece...Of course, you have to be receptive to this kind of three-hanky dramatic fare. But hey, those of us who would even bother to sit down for this kind of weep-fest have to admit that basically we're suckers for the genre. It helps when you've got a stellar cast on hand (along with Spacek, you've got Joan Plowright, Mary-Louise Parker, LAW AND ORDER'S S. Epatha Merkerson and the young Jack Noseworthy, all very good indeed). And the kid is adorable. The film tugs shamelessly at the heartstrings, but it doesn't--completely--wear its heart on its sleeve. A lot of credit goes to the capable cast who tend to underplay their roles. Spacek--and the rest of the cast here--may be partial to socially conscious fare, but they're smart enough not to lay it on too thick.