Practical Magic (1998)
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Two sisters descended from a long line of witches must use their magic to confront a dangerous spirit and break a generational curse.
The story
In Massachusetts, the Owens family has been persecuted for centuries due to a family curse stemming from an ancestor's history with witchcraft. Sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, raised by their aunts after their parents' death, are taught the secrets of practical magic. The sisters live in a community that views them as outcasts. When Gillian becomes involved with a dangerous man, the sisters must navigate the complexities of their magical heritage and the looming threat of a malevolent spirit that seeks to claim them, forcing them to decide how much of their power they are willing to use to protect one another.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The Owens family is haunted by a curse: any man an Owens woman loves is doomed. Sally and Gillian, raised by aunts Frances and Jet, live in Massachusetts. Sally once cast a spell to only love a man with impossible traits, while Gillian sought love freely. Years later, Gillian becomes involved with Jimmy Angelov, a man who turns out to be a serial killer. After a series of events leads to Jimmy's death and subsequent resurrection via a forbidden spell, his spirit begins to haunt the sisters. A state investigator, Gary Hallett, arrives to investigate. Sally discovers Gary is the 'impossible man' from her spell. As Jimmy's spirit takes over Gillian's body, Sally must gather the local women to form a coven and perform an exorcism. They successfully exile the spirit, and the community finally accepts the Owens women as witches. Sally chooses to be with Gary despite the risks of the family curse.
- First release year
- 1998
- Runtime (minutes)
- 104
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Griffin Dunne
- Writers
- Robin Swicord · screenplay; Akiva Goldsman · screenplay; Adam Brooks · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Sandra Bullock · Sally Owens; Nicole Kidman · Gillian Owens; Dianne Wiest · Jet; Stockard Channing · Frances; Aidan Quinn · Gary Hallet; Goran Visnjic · Jimmy Angelov; Evan Rachel Wood · Kylie; Alexandra Artrip · Antonia
- Genres
- fantasy; romantic comedy; drama
- Themes
- sisterhood; female empowerment; tradition; supernatural
- Tone and mood
- dark comedy; romantic; supernatural
- Setting
- Massachusetts, present day.
- Premise and plot tags
- witchcraft; curse; sisterhood; supernatural
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1995 novel by Alice Hoffman
- Franchise connections
- Practical Magic
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- The film received poor reviews from critics but has gained a cult following.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 31% · scale: percentage · review count: 111
- Production trivia
- The cast reported hearing supernatural noises while filming the coven scene.; The original score by Michael Nyman was replaced by Alan Silvestri's score for the theatrical release.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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