Polyandry rarely turns up as a subject in movies (Paint Your Wagon is perhaps the most famous, or perhaps infamous, example), but in Susan Kaplan's thoroughly hypnotic documentary, the two men/one woman living arrangement is the real deal. Sam and Steven are happy together as a couple—even Sam's father, a Mafia hitman serving a 45-year jail term, isn't complaining (he'd rather his son be a homosexual than a cop!). But things get a bit odd when Samantha joins the picture, meeting and falling in love with both men; since she cannot have two husbands, Samantha opts to wed Sam but continue to sleep with Steven as well. Living happily together for years, the three even pool their talents to open a successful wellness center in New York. However, when Samantha gets pregnant, and baby makes four, Steve (who is actually the biological father, even though Sam's name is on the birth certificate) makes an abrupt decision that requires legal mediation. While the three adults may have a decidedly unique perspective on what constitutes a family, their emotional maturity and intelligence saves this decidedly offbeat documentary from ever devolving into Jerry Springer-style tackiness. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)
Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family
ThinkFilm, 95 min., R, DVD: $29.99, Mar. 14 Volume 21, Issue 3
Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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