"Places in the Heart" - A Little TOO Sentimental, or Just Right?

Okay, so I finally got around to watching "Places in the Heart" (1984)! I know, I'm late to the party. But wow, what a film. The story is so raw, almost unbearably so at times. We're talking depression-era Texas, a young widow Edna, played with such quiet strength by Sally Field, trying to hold onto her farm after her husband dies. Add a blind boarder (John Malkovich!) and a black farmhand needing protection (Danny Glover), and things get complicated, to say the least. What struck me most was the cinematography. The way they captured the Texas landscape – those wide, open fields – really emphasized the characters' isolation and vulnerability. There's this one scene, I think after the tornado hits, where Edna is standing in the middle of her ruined cotton field, and the light is just… perfect. Like, devastatingly beautiful. It really hit me in the gut, I felt like I understood the depths of her despair, right there. But the ending... I don't know, guys. It felt a little too… saccharine, maybe? That communion scene felt a bit too neat, too perfect of an ending for such a messy story. Like, the symbolism was so THICK, I could spread it on toast. It seemed to wrap everything up in a nice little bow, which, honestly, felt a little tonally inconsistent with the rest of the film. Was it a beautiful sentiment? Sure. But did it totally ring true? I'm not so sure. I'm torn, because the performances were AMAZING, and the direction was solid. I just wish the ending had a little more grit, you know? Anyway, Curious what you guys think. Am I being too cynical? Did the ending work for you, or did it feel a bit too… Hallmarky? Let's discuss!