Over the objections of her rich and influential father (Michael Higgins) and mother (Rochelle Oliver), Elizabeth (Hallie Foote) has married Horace (William Converse-Roberts), a young man from the wrong side of the tracks. The year is 1917, and the couple is living in an apartment in a small Southern town where rumors about the community's wayward souls spread like wildfire. It is Christmas, and Elizabeth is pregnant. Horace works at a tailor shop and has saved $4,000 for his family's future.
Oscar-winning screenwriter Horton Foote (Tender Mercies, 1918, The Trip to Bountiful), who wrote the screenplay for this film, has stated: "I believe very deeply in the human spirit, and I have a sense of awe about it." Those who saw 1918 and The Trip to Bountiful will recognize many familiar elements in this intimate film about familial rifts, the dire effects of loneliness, and the human yearning for love that lasts. Everything about On Valentine's Day, directed by Ken Harrison, is just right — from the small period details in clothing to the superb ensemble acting of the entire cast.
The solidity and gentleness of Horace and Elizabeth's marriage seems to beckon the town's lost souls to their preserve. This couple reach out in compassion and understanding to George (Steven Hill), an eccentric and wealthy cousin who has gone insane; Bobby Pate (Richard Jenkins), the landlady's son who has become an alcoholic since his wife ran away; Miss Ruth (Carol Goodheart), a boarder who lives alone and desperately wants to be part of someone else's family; and Brother (Matthew Broderick), Elizabeth's brother whose drinking, gambling, and academic failures make him a burden to those who really care about him.
At Christmas, Elizabeth's parents decide to patch up their rift with her and come for a visit. Meanwhile, Horace is hurt by the fact that his mother and sister haven't sent them any gifts. The family circle in On Valentine's Day is a constant source of pain and pleasure — in alternate doses.
Foote's distinctive screenplay makes the most of magic moments when epiphanies shed light on the inner feelings of these brittle and endearing characters. At one point, Elizabeth, thinking about aging, breaks into tears — "I don't want to grow old," she says. "I want everything to stay the way it is." In another scene, her father comments on their apartment: "There's peace and contentment in this room. . . . Things like that cannot be bought." And sadly enough, not many movies ring as true to "the human spirit" as On Valentine's Day.