The Movie House in Millerton hosted a special screening of “The Millers in Marriage,” a film written and directed by Edward Burns. Burns and fellow actors Gretchen Mol, Campbell Scott, Benjamin Bratt and Brian d’Arcy James were in attendance and participated in a question-and-answer panel after the screening. The panel was moderated by Mol’s husband, filmmaker Kip Williams. Audience members got to ask questions of the veteran actors of stage, film, and television.
The film centers around the three Miller siblings; played by Gretchen Mol as Eve, a former “indie rock” singer and song writer; Edward Burns as Andy, a painter; and Juliana Margulies, as Maggie, a writer. All three are over fifty, with the sisters facing empty nests after their children are grown. All three have problems in their marriages and are dealing with the death of their mother the year before.
Kip Williams opened the question-and-answer period by saying to Burns “I can’t think of another film about this moment in life. It’s an original window. Thank you for that.”
Burns said he chose that subject matter for that reason. “There are no films about us,” referring to people of “generation X” now being over fifty. “I am invisible now,” he said. “Our stories have no value now.” It was important to him to make a movie about this stage of life.
Ed Burns, Gretchen Mol, and Benjamin Bratt on the red carpet at The Millerton Movie House on Dec. 21. They were there for a special screening of “Millers in Marriage” which Burns wrote, directed and acted in. All three costarred in the film. Robin Roraback
Mol’s character, Eve, was just becoming successful when she got pregnant and gave up her career to marry her manager and raise their children. Now, she wonders if it is too late to start her career again. When a writer for a magazine — played by Benjamin Bratt — contacts her and reminds her of her past, his character acts as a catalyst for her to begin to think again about her music and her life.
Mol said when she read the script it was like “a conversation I’ve been having with my friends.” She loved about her character that “she changed. She’s still on the journey.”
Kip Williams commented to Mol, “When I look into the eye of the character, I don’t recognize you at all,” describing how completely she had been able to assume her role.
Campbell Scott plays Nick, husband of Margulies’ character. Scott said that as an actor, his challenge in the film was “How unattractive can we make this guy? How whiney? And still keep him human?” Nick is a writer struggling with writer’s block while his wife, also a writer, is finishing another book.
Bratt said of Campbell’s performance, that it was “nuanced” and left him “wondering how he does what he does.” He admitted, “I have a desperately bad actor crush on Campbell Scott.”
Brian d’Arcy James’ character, Dennis, is a caretaker who comes into play when the siblings go to the country for the weekend. The panel said of his character, “He’s an outlier, he lacks some moral structure. He opens things up and creates a problem.”
Moderator Williams commented that the themes of aging, parental death, and surviving as artists were “delicately worked.”
Audience members remarked that the film was “So much fun to watch, great actors.” “Well crafted, melancholy.” “I wanted it to keep going.”
John Roccanova displays the woodcrafts he creates, standing with his wife, Jean, who helps direct the funds from each sale toward supporting students in Kenya.
During this time, Roccanova said he and his friends did their woodworking outdoors, asking store owners for their discarded crates, using the wood and storage boxes to make scooters and forts.
What began as summer work evolved into a hobby and eventually, a career as a shop teacher in the Webutuck school district.
This fall, Roccanova’s craftsmanship fills the Irondale Schoolhouse in Millerton, where his handmade items will be on sale Nov. 22–23 and 28–30.
From salad bowls and trays to jewelry and children’s toys, shoppers can get a head start on the holidays with artisan-made pieces crafted from mahogany, walnut, maple and ash.
John Roccanova presents a handmade salad bowl among a plethora of wood products he's selling to benefit a Kenya-based anti-poverty organization.Photo by Aly Morrissey
Grow Against Poverty
Roccanova and his wife, Jean – both former Webutuck school teachers now living in Ancramdale – spend their retirement supporting a nonprofit organization in Kenya. Every dollar from John’s woodworking goes directly to children there.
Their involvement began after reading a New York Times article about extreme overcrowding in Kenyan schools. Moved to learn more, they eventually established the U.S. arm of Grow Against Poverty, the Kenya-based nonprofit they now support through John’s crafts.
Seven years ago, the couple traveled to Busia County, Kenya, to meet Helen Mukanda, founder of Grow Against Poverty. “It’s poverty like we’ve never seen before,” said Jean. Thanks to that visit and – and with the help of WhatsApp – the Roccanovas receive real-time updates and photos showing the impact of their donations. Mukanda and her board identify the areas of greatest need and share them with John and Jean.
The Irondale Schoolhouse is open for people to buy handmade wood dishes and other trinkets Nov. 22 through 23 and 28 through 30.Photo by Aly Morrissey
Their contributions sustain an organic gardening program that provides fresh produce for student lunches, which increases attendance at schools and is often a child’s best meal of the day. They also support efforts to reduce period poverty by building restrooms and showers and supplying sanitary products.
Roccanova grows emotional when he talks about the conditions in Busia County.
“When I retired, I didn’t know what I was going to do,” said Roccanova. “So I started making things. And then I had all this stuff. So we said, ‘Well, we can donate it.’”
To date, the Roccanovas have raised more than $75,000 for Grow Against Poverty. Wood crafts will be available at Irondale Schoolhouse this weekend and after Thanksgiving. Donations are also accepted online through GlobalGiving.org.
