In the early 1940's Homer Wells is living as a older teenager in the orphanage of Dr Wilbur Larch. Larch has taken Homer under his wing after he was returned twice by different foster parents. Homer grows up and learns to be a doctor under the tutoring of Dr Larch however a visit to the orphanage from an airforce pilot and his girlfriend to have an abortion opens Homer's eyes to the wider world. For the first time as an adult he decides to leave the orphanage and goes with Candy Kendall to work her families orchard with the hired gangs. Once there he learns just what Larch had been trying to teach him for years.
I didn't know what this film was about when I sat to watch it. Even when Michael Caine was winning his Oscar I was still none the wiser and only saw it yesterday. Seeing how strong the pro-abortion argument is in the film made me surprised that the very liberal voters in the academy weren't turned against it. However thick the message is laid in, it is made via a good story that stops short of ramming it down our throat. As a melodrama it works very well, as an argument it is a little easy but works just as well.
Director Hallström controls the film very well. A lesser director could easily have made this a really mushy sentimental TVM or gone the other way and been too cold and distant. Hallström manages to walk the line between both, the film is emotional, but only because of the subject matter and not because he overdoes the story or uses cheap music. At times the story appears a bit aimless and wandering, although given the sprawling nature of the source material this is perhaps to be expected. Generally though it is very involving the couple of years journey of Homer, his odyssey if you will!
Maguire is perfectly cast. His understated performance allows us to see the story past him easily, but he brings enough so that the role is not a blank. Caine is good but I can only assume that the field around him for the Oscar must have been weak or that he was an emotional choice (ageing actor needing a win etc). Personally I felt his performance in Quiet American was miles better than this, but that's Oscar for you! Having said that I think he is good but has little to do really. Theron is good looking and happily makes Candy a more complex character than the romantic subplot occasionally makes you think she is. For the most part her scenes with Homer drag a bit but she comes good towards the end. The real lift for the film once it leaves the orphanage is two great performances on the farm. Delroy Lindo is superb as the leader of the gang and Badu, in her first film, is really good. Damn even Heavy D plays well!
Overall this is a message film but it is balanced well and isn't just that. The wandering story of Homer is involving by itself and the fact that it asks difficult questions and shows us the lessons of Homer just make it better. It isn't perfect but it is a very touching, bittersweet tale.
I didn't know what this film was about when I sat to watch it. Even when Michael Caine was winning his Oscar I was still none the wiser and only saw it yesterday. Seeing how strong the pro-abortion argument is in the film made me surprised that the very liberal voters in the academy weren't turned against it. However thick the message is laid in, it is made via a good story that stops short of ramming it down our throat. As a melodrama it works very well, as an argument it is a little easy but works just as well.
Director Hallström controls the film very well. A lesser director could easily have made this a really mushy sentimental TVM or gone the other way and been too cold and distant. Hallström manages to walk the line between both, the film is emotional, but only because of the subject matter and not because he overdoes the story or uses cheap music. At times the story appears a bit aimless and wandering, although given the sprawling nature of the source material this is perhaps to be expected. Generally though it is very involving the couple of years journey of Homer, his odyssey if you will!
Maguire is perfectly cast. His understated performance allows us to see the story past him easily, but he brings enough so that the role is not a blank. Caine is good but I can only assume that the field around him for the Oscar must have been weak or that he was an emotional choice (ageing actor needing a win etc). Personally I felt his performance in Quiet American was miles better than this, but that's Oscar for you! Having said that I think he is good but has little to do really. Theron is good looking and happily makes Candy a more complex character than the romantic subplot occasionally makes you think she is. For the most part her scenes with Homer drag a bit but she comes good towards the end. The real lift for the film once it leaves the orphanage is two great performances on the farm. Delroy Lindo is superb as the leader of the gang and Badu, in her first film, is really good. Damn even Heavy D plays well!
Overall this is a message film but it is balanced well and isn't just that. The wandering story of Homer is involving by itself and the fact that it asks difficult questions and shows us the lessons of Homer just make it better. It isn't perfect but it is a very touching, bittersweet tale.