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While this film was made back in 2000
and can probably be seen now on dvd, this gem of a movie is just now
being released in limited distribution and should be seen on the big
screen if at all possible. This most impressive and smart
movie is not only director Hilary Birmingham's debut film, but she
was co-writer of it as well. I never can understand how and
why such smaller interesting and entertaining films with great
stories and great characters like this one can be so overlooked and
not get the attention and distribution that they deserve.
We
are first introduced to the Coates family whose father Tully runs a
farm in Nebraska and whose wife we are told has died many years
before, and brothers Tully Jr. and Earl spend their days working the
farm. Tully Jr. with his classic good looks pretty much enjoys
the company of all the good looking women in town. When not
working on the farm, Earl seems to spend most of his time at the
town movie theatre. Complicating Tully's love life is the
arrival from college of Ella who is back in town for the summer and
it is obvious from the outset that she is very interested in him.
A bigger problem arises when the bank is about to foreclose on the
farm because it seems that someone posing as the boys' mother has
incurred huge hospital bills and a lien is being placed on the farm.
And complicating their lives even more, some long-time hidden and
disturbing family secrets come out into the open. The entire
plot of the film deals with how everybody deals with these new
conflicts while living their most ordinary lives.
I
don't know where to start with the praise for this film. I
don't recall seeing any of the actors in this film in roles before
but all of them put forth such tremendous performances that they
bring such a sense of realism to all the characters they play.
The performances remind me of the Michael Caine philosophy of
acting.. act so good that the audience doesn't even sense that it is
acting that they are watching. And all of these characters
seem so real and honest that the audience cares what happens to each
and all of them. Bob Burris as the father puts in an
especially powerful performance as a man who has never gotten over
the loss of his wife and looks like he hasn't laughed since that
day. Anson Mount plays Tully Jr. perfectly as the high school
grad who has not a clue to what he really wants in life and seems to
get by on his looks alone. And Julianne Nicholson is terrific
and charming as the tomboyish girl who appears to be having her
sexual awakening.
The
film contains beautiful footage of the Nebraska farmland and the
cinematography is great to see on a big screen. I also have to
praise this most intelligent screenplay because it doesn't hurry the
story being told, but rather lets it unfold at a most deliberate
pace which goes perfectly with the small-town Nebraska
setting. The story takes it time letting you know all the
characters and each scene is played out in such a real and natural
manner, letting the dialogue and emotion play out to the end.
While there are some tragic twists and unfolding family secrets, the
film isn't about deeply troubled characters who end up past a
boiling point and result in uncontrollable violence like is done in
so many film family dramas like this one.
If you are lucky enough to have
this film being played in a theatre near you, by all means go see
it. While it is a small, quiet movie and not flashy by any
means, the film becomes so powerful just by the story being told and
the characters that are involved. I love seeing unknown little
films like this one which gives such a rewarding movie going
experience.
-- Mike (
3 1/2 out of 4 pops )
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