Marvin's Room

Marvin, a man who had a stroke twenty years ago, is incapacitated and bedridden. He has been given care by his sister Ruth and his daughter Bessie in their Florida home, and ignored by his other daughter Lee, who moved to Ohio twenty years ago and has not contacted her family since. Lee's 17-year-old son Hank, missing his father and angry with his mother, sets fire to some photos and burns down the house. Hank becomes sectioned in a mental institution. Lee visits but explains to the psychiatrist she does not have a good relationship with her son. Bessie's doctor has informed her she has leukemia (the same disease from which her and Lee's mother died) and needs a bone marrow transplant, so she turns to her sister Lee for help. Lee believes her sons Charlie and Hank may be a match, so she goes to get Hank. He apologizes to her for burning down the house, and they leave for Florida to stay with Bessie. When they arrive, Hank refuses to get out of the car and the initial meeting with Marvin goes badly. Hank refuses to be tested to see if he is a bone marrow match. He accuses Bessie of wanting to stay away from the family, so Bessie tries to build a relationship with him. She gifts to Hank her father's tools from his bedroom, and he takes her on a drive along the beach. He eventually confides in her about what went on in the institution and agrees to be tested. When Lee learns she may have to take over her father's care, she begins shopping for nursing homes, fearing she will have to uproot her life. Bessie begs Lee to move to Florida permanently, and the boys are tested to see if they are a bone marrow match. As the days pass, the family begins to grow closer. Lee restyles Bessie's wig and serves dinners for the family. The following day, they all head to Disney World. Lee confides to Hank that his dad would abuse him, and that he was not the perfect father Hank remembers. During the afternoon, in the crowd and with the heat, Bessie begins to feel unwell, which scares the family. Testing reveals the boys are not a match as bone marrow donors, and Bessie's condition begins to deteriorate. Lee comes to terms with it now being up to her to take care of her family. She familiarizes herself with her father's medications and walks into his room with his lunch to see Bessie flashing sunlight off the mirror that often makes Marvin smile.

Plot from Marvin's Room (film)CC BY-SA 4.0