The acting is first rate, but, despite her Oscar, Page was better in Woody Allen's Interiors, in a much more demanding and unsympathetic role. The real stars here are Glynn and Heard, and it's a tossup as to which actor is better, for neither is as accessible as the Page role. Glynn's role is as a seeming bitch, but we never really believe that, as in several moments throughout the film we see she really does care for her mother. Heard's character never has problems showing he cares, but he is a classic hen-pecked type. Since abrasiveness and seeming cowardice are not valued traits, it's no wonder both Foote and the audience sympathize more with Mother Watts, and this is why she is the de facto lead, even if her tale is the least interesting, and most predictable, of the three- especially when we learn that two of Ludie's siblings died in that town, in childhood. The character played by DeMornay is, by contrast, merely a plot device to get inside Mother Watts. With that done, her exit from the film is anticlimactic.
The film got mixed reviews on its release, but even those who praised it did so for the wrong reasons, lumping it in with lesser nostalgic schlock like The Color Purple and the later Driving Miss Daisy. There was also the critical cribbing regarding Mother Watts' first name, as well as some claims that the film has flashbacks, due to the opening credits scene where we see a young Mother Watts and child Ludie running through a field of flowers. But, since this is the opening shot, and is never repeated, it cannot be a flashback. The film could be considered a flashforward, but given the bulk of time spent in the film's present, this is ludicrous. It does, however, amply show the problems many critics have in dealing with art that does not conform to their preconceptions, nor the promotional material they are given. The film's main themes song, Softly And Tenderly, sung by Cynthia Clawson, is memorable, but scoring is not a strength of this film.
The Trip To Bountiful has many great points and moments, but it is not a great film, for the translation between media is a difficult thing to pull off. But, the film shows the failure of much contemporary writing, with an over-reliance on diurnal description and rote explanation, whereas true characterization comes from observation- the viewer being to observe what and what not the character does, and how that has an effect on the character, even if the whole observational process is discreetly exhibited. This film is a great example of characterization at its finest, and even though it does not achieve overall greatness in this medium, it small failures point out the way that the truly great works of the filmic medium do achieve it. Thus, it recapitulates much of the learning process that the tercet of main characters undergoes. Not bad for a failure, eh?
The film got mixed reviews on its release, but even those who praised it did so for the wrong reasons, lumping it in with lesser nostalgic schlock like The Color Purple and the later Driving Miss Daisy. There was also the critical cribbing regarding Mother Watts' first name, as well as some claims that the film has flashbacks, due to the opening credits scene where we see a young Mother Watts and child Ludie running through a field of flowers. But, since this is the opening shot, and is never repeated, it cannot be a flashback. The film could be considered a flashforward, but given the bulk of time spent in the film's present, this is ludicrous. It does, however, amply show the problems many critics have in dealing with art that does not conform to their preconceptions, nor the promotional material they are given. The film's main themes song, Softly And Tenderly, sung by Cynthia Clawson, is memorable, but scoring is not a strength of this film.
The Trip To Bountiful has many great points and moments, but it is not a great film, for the translation between media is a difficult thing to pull off. But, the film shows the failure of much contemporary writing, with an over-reliance on diurnal description and rote explanation, whereas true characterization comes from observation- the viewer being to observe what and what not the character does, and how that has an effect on the character, even if the whole observational process is discreetly exhibited. This film is a great example of characterization at its finest, and even though it does not achieve overall greatness in this medium, it small failures point out the way that the truly great works of the filmic medium do achieve it. Thus, it recapitulates much of the learning process that the tercet of main characters undergoes. Not bad for a failure, eh?