Paradise (1991 film)

Paradise is a 1991 drama film written and directed by Mary Agnes Donoghue. The original music score is composed by David Newman.

Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson (at the time married to each other) play Lily and Ben Reed, a young couple torn apart by a family tragedy. It would take a miracle to rekindle their love and a miracle arrives in the form of a summer guest - Willard Young (Elijah Wood).

It is a remake of the French film Le Grand Chemin by Jean-Loup Hubert.

Plot
Willard Young (Elijah Wood) is 10 years old and is going to a private school on a scholarship. However, for some reason he is afraid of everything around him. He has not seen his father for so long, he thinks he's away on sea duty. Then one day, his mother sends him to the small yet dull town. It turns out he's staying with an old friend of his mother's named Lily Reed (Melanie Griffith) who is married to Ben Reed (Don Johnson). While Willard is bored and out and about looking for something to do, he comes across a 9 year old female tomboy named Billie Pike (Thora Birch). She herself doesn’t know who her father is or what he does, and has a mother (Sheila McCarthy) who just can't keep up with a relationship. But it isn't long before Willard and Billie both become something neither one of them has ever really had or been: a best friend. While their friendship blossoms, Ben and Lily struggle come to terms with their own personal struggles. Years ago their infant son died accidentally, and they had been suffering ever since. Lily, in particular, has been unable to piece together her life since the tragedy, and even though Ben struggles get through to her, Lily is too entrenched in grief and guilt to respond. But stemming from the often endearing time that they both have been spending with Willard, they slowly begin to mend their relationship. Willard starts to come terms with his own fears…including the shattering truth that his father was never on sea duty, but had in fact left his mother for another woman. As for Billie, when she tries to make contact with a skating ring teacher whom she believes is her father, he flat out rejects her. Although her heart is broken, she must come to accept that she doesn't have a father anymore. The question is, will anyone learn to accept what they have and what they never did? They must learn this for themselves, all the while trying to find the one thing that leads to salvation and redemption: Paradise.

Reception
Paradise received mixed to negative reviews from critics, as it holds a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 12 reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.