It's 1944; WWII is in progress; times are tough all over. A divorced mom who's trying to raise two young boys, Nita (Sissy Spacek) works in her home as a switchboard operator. She lives in a dilapidated wood frame house with paint severely peeling. Nobody in this small Texas town has much money, and few have any education. They're all kind of ... trapped.
Into Nita's dreary life comes a sailor on-leave, named Teddy (Eric Roberts). Cautiously, over time, Nita and Teddy become more than friends; Nita's two boys take a liking to Teddy. Undeterred by local gossip, Nita and Teddy continue their relationship.
The best element by far is the sense of time and place we get from this film. Production design is superlative. From the dank wallpaper to the Lux detergent box in the kitchen, to the tinny radio music of "Rum and Coca-Cola", to those old fashioned gas pumps, to slamming screen doors, the viewer really feels like he or she is back in the 1940s. Cheap era clothes amplify the sense of time. And the blackness of night scenes with the chirp of crickets and streets devoid of street lights scream small, country town.
I am ambivalent about the subplot of the two local louts. It seems highly contrived. Yet, without it the overall story would be almost stagnant. This subplot eventually takes on some importance, and leads to a surprise final Act, with a sudden infusion of tension and suspense.
Casting and acting are fine. Sissy Spacek has been effective in every role I have seen her play. Color cinematography is well done. Background music is intermittent; scenes that lack it amplify a sense of realism.
A less than perfect script combined with an abrupt tonal shift toward the end notwithstanding, "Raggedy Man" conveys a marvelous sense of time and place.
Into Nita's dreary life comes a sailor on-leave, named Teddy (Eric Roberts). Cautiously, over time, Nita and Teddy become more than friends; Nita's two boys take a liking to Teddy. Undeterred by local gossip, Nita and Teddy continue their relationship.
The best element by far is the sense of time and place we get from this film. Production design is superlative. From the dank wallpaper to the Lux detergent box in the kitchen, to the tinny radio music of "Rum and Coca-Cola", to those old fashioned gas pumps, to slamming screen doors, the viewer really feels like he or she is back in the 1940s. Cheap era clothes amplify the sense of time. And the blackness of night scenes with the chirp of crickets and streets devoid of street lights scream small, country town.
I am ambivalent about the subplot of the two local louts. It seems highly contrived. Yet, without it the overall story would be almost stagnant. This subplot eventually takes on some importance, and leads to a surprise final Act, with a sudden infusion of tension and suspense.
Casting and acting are fine. Sissy Spacek has been effective in every role I have seen her play. Color cinematography is well done. Background music is intermittent; scenes that lack it amplify a sense of realism.
A less than perfect script combined with an abrupt tonal shift toward the end notwithstanding, "Raggedy Man" conveys a marvelous sense of time and place.