History Film / ShyPeople

* IHaveNoSon: While going through Ruth's family photos, Diana notices a child with his face scratched out. Ruth insists that the child in question sinned by going into town, and that said child is therefore dead to her.

* AdultFear: When Diana returns to Ruth's house and can't find Grace, she demands to know where she is, and Tommy reveals that she has fled into the swamp.

''Shy People'' is a 1987 American drama film by Russian director Creator/AndreiKonchalovsky, starring Creator/JillClayburgh, Creator/BarbaraHershey, and Creator/MarthaPlimpton.

* ArtisticLicenseAstronomy: The image of the moon (actually an Apollo 11 photograph) as seen from Diana's plane in the final scene is incorrect as it shows part of the far side which is not visible from Earth.

''Shy People'' is a 1987 American drama film by Russian director Creator/AndreiKonchalovsky, starring Jill Clayburgh, Creator/BarbaraHershey, and Martha Plimpton.

* BeautyInversion: In contrast to Konchalovsky's previous film ''Film/RunawayTrain'' where Creator/RebeccaDeMornay looked HollywoodHomely at worst, here the filmmakers do a fairly adequate job of making the beautiful Barbara Hershey look dowdy.

* BeautyInversion: In contrast to Konchalovsky's previous film ''Film/RunawayTrain'' where Rebecca De Mornay looked HollywoodHomely at worst, here the filmmakers do a fairly adequate job of making the beautiful Barbara Hershey look dowdy.

* BreakTheCutie: Poor, poor Grace. The ordeal she endures is enough to convince her [[spoiler:never to leave her mother's care]].

''Shy People'' is a 1987 American drama film by Russian director Creator/AndreiKonchalovsky, starring Jill Clayburgh, Barbara Hershey, and Martha Plimpton.

* TheLopsidedArmOfTheLaw: Ruth intends to press assault charges against family rival Jake Wilson, whom Mark claims attacked him, but the local police dismiss the case for lack of evidence.

* OminousFog: Present when Jake assaults Mark, and later when Diana searches for her missing daughter.

%% AdultFear

* AsTheGoodBookSays: The film closes with a quote from the [[Literature/TheBible Book of Revelations]].
* AttemptedRape: Mark attempts to force himself on Grace while high on cocaine.
%% BreakTheCutie: Poor, poor Grace.
%% BigApplesauce
* BigScrewedUpFamily: Let's see... The matriarch was married to an older abusive man at the age of 12, the one son suffers from mental health issues and lives in a cage, the youngest daughter is a pregnant teenager, another son is disowned by the mother and constantly at odds with her, and everyone lives isolated from civilization and believes that they're being haunted by the ghost of the deceased family patriarch.

%% BrattyTeenageDaughter: Grace.

%% DomesticAbuse
* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The events of the film take place over the course of two days, maybe three at most.
%% IHaveNoSon
%% KissingCousins
%% TheLopsidedArmOfTheLaw
%% TheMentallyDisturbed
* OldManMarryingAChild: Ruth was twelve when she married her husband.
%% OminousFog
%% RebelliousSpirit: Grace.

* TeenPregnancy: Ruth's only daughter Candy is pregnant at the time of Diana's fateful visit. Ruth herself was likely not much younger when she gave birth to her children.
%% TheUnFavorite: Mike.

* ArtisticLicenseAstronomy: The image of the moon (actually an ''Apollo 11'' photograph) as seen from Diana's plane in the final scene is incorrect as it shows part of the far side which is not visible from Earth.

%% BigScrewedUpFamily
%% BittersweetEnding

* DeepSouth: Much of the story takes place in the bayous of Louisiana.

%% OldManMarryingAChild

* SceneryPorn: The cinematography includes some really nice shots of the Louisiana marshlands.
%% TeenPregnancy

Diana Sullivan (Clayburgh) is a successful [[BigApplesauce Manhattan]] writer and photojournalist, seemingly oblivious to the serious cocaine addiction that her wild child daughter, Grace (Plimpton), has developed. A commission by ''Magazine/{{Cosmopolitan}}'' magazine to write an article about a lost branch of Diana's family leads them deep into [[DeepSouth the bayous of Louisiana]], where they encounter Diana's distant cousin, Ruth (Hershey). [[OldManCarryingAChild Married at 12]] to an [[DomesticAbuse abusive man]] whose current whereabouts are an increasingly troubling cipher, Ruth rules over her three adult sons, all less than perfectly cogent, with equal parts protectiveness and ferocity, while [[TheUnFavorite a fourth, disowned son]] adds to the volatility of the situation. As the fascinated Diana and wary Ruth circle one another, Grace, bored and in grip of her addiction, toys with her naïve cousins with devastating consequences.

%% OldManCarryingAChild