Her films were ‘ magic’
The groundbreaking director was known for ‘ Hester Street’ and ‘ Crossing Delancey.’
Joan Micklin Silver, the groundbreaking director of such films as “Hester Street” and “Crossing Delancey,” has died. She was 85.
Her daughter Claudia Silver confirmed the cause of her mother’s death Thursday to the New York Times as vascular dementia.
Joan Micklin Silver was one of the few women to sustain a career as a director in Hollywood through the 1970s and ’ 80s. She and her husband, producer Raphael D. Silver, were innovative in the distribution of her early movies, paving the way for the independent film boom of the 1990s.
In an email, former Times film critic Kenneth Turan, a longtime friend, wrote: “Joan Micklin Silver was a truly underappreciated director. Not only did she make a number of features against considerable odds, they remain smart, personal and exceptionally entertaining to this day.”
“She’s like the perfect ’ 70s f ilmmaker,” said Maya Montañez Smukler, author of “Liberating Hollywood: Women Directors and the Feminist Reform of 1970s American Cinema.” “Quirky characters, messy characters, relatable, familiar stories, but a little rough around the edges. That’s how we think of the most beloved ’ 70s films.”
Silver was born in Omaha and attended Sarah Lawrence College. After making a number of short f ilms and working as a screenwriter, she made her feature debut as writer- director in 1975 with “Hester Street,” the story of an immi
grant family struggling to assimilate in New York’s Lower East Side in 1896. Actress Carol Kane, only 21 when the movie was made, was nominated for an Academy Award for lead actress.
After Silver made the TV f ilm “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” an adaptation of an F. Scott Fitzgerald story starring Shelley Duvall, her second theatrical feature was 1977’ s “Between the Lines,” an ensemble dramedy about an alternative newspaper in Boston being bought by a larger corporation. The cast of rising young talents included John Heard, Lindsay Crouse, Jeff Goldblum, Joe Morton, Michael J. Pollard, Stephen Collins, Jill Eikenberry and Bruno Kirby. ( A restoration of the f ilm was released in 2019.)
Silver also produced her husband’s directorial debut, the 1978 prison drama “On the Yard,” before directing her next film, an adaptation of Ann Beattie’s novel “Chilly Scenes of Winter.” Starring Heard, Mary Beth Hurt, Peter Riegert and Gloria Grahame in the story of a man unable to get over his affections for a married co- worker, the f ilm was retitled “Head Over Heels” by United Artists before its release in 1979.
As reported by The Times’ Charles Champlin, crew members were so upset by this that they all signed a petition in protest. The f ilm was rereleased in 1982 under its original title and with Silver’s recut ending. Champlin referred to the film as “an intelligent and attractively acted, wry study of a human relationship.”
After she did more work in television, Silver’s next feature would be an adaptation of Susan Sandler’s play “Crossing Delancey” for Warner Bros., released in 1988. Starring Amy Irving as a single woman in New York City and Riegert as a pickle salesman and unlikely romantic hero, the movie remains something of the benchmark for a contemporary romantic comedy.
In a review for The Times, Sheila Benson lauded the f ilm’s “unqualified pleasure,” adding: “It’s at once hip and romantic; wittily sophisticated and unabashedly affectionate; a love poem to all New York.”
After “Crossing Delancey,” Silver directed 1989’ s “Loverboy,” starring Patrick Dempsey, and 1991’ s “Big Girls Don’t Cry … They Get Even,” with an ensemble cast that included David Strathairn, Adrienne Shelly, Ben Savage, Jenny Lewis and Griffin Dunne. Silver continued to direct for television and theater, making one more theatrical feature with 1998’ s “A Fish in the Bathtub” starring Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.
Silver is survived by her three daughters, Claudia, Dina and Marisa; a sister, Renee; and f ive grandchildren. Her husband died in 2013.
Though her pictures have never been forgotten, with the recently renewed focus on female f ilmmakers in Hollywood, Silver’s work has enjoyed revived interest.
“Her f ilms are just joyous,” said Montañez Smukler. “She had this incredible ability to capture a realness and just the awkwardness of human nature. They are great f ilms because she just really understood her characters. And she really understood how to make movies.
“You’re laughing with a tear in your eye, but you feel reaffirmed. That was her magic.”
While speaking to an audience at the American Film Institute in 1991, Silver said: “Be tenacious. Be strong. Be courageous. ... You have to learn to take rejection. You have to learn to believe in yourself.”