Desert Hearts

Synopsis

In 1959, East Coast professor Vivian Bell arrives in Reno intending to obtain a divorce. The trip removes her from the familiar structures of her life and brings her into contact with Cay, a younger woman whose independence unsettles Vivian’s reserve. Against the Nevada desert landscape, attraction grows through the differences between them rather than despite those differences. Vivian must decide how to respond to a desire that challenges the controlled identity she has maintained. Cay’s openness offers possibility without making vulnerability disappear. Adapted from Jane Rule’s novel, Donna Deitch’s romance gives the women’s relationship time to develop through hesitation, curiosity and emotional risk. Their encounter becomes a chance to imagine a future beyond the life Vivian came to Reno to end.