Thursday, October 10, 2013

Raggedy Man



SENSATIONAL SISSY!!
I remember going to the theatre to see this film about a year after "Coal Miner's Daughter". I knew anything with Sissy Spacek in it had to be good. This film is not only good, its sensational with Sissy giving one of her finest performances. (When has she ever been anything but excellent in anything??) I can't add much to what the majority of the reviewers have said about this film. The DVD audio and video are high quality and the film is beautifully remastered. The musical score is top-notch and the forties background cannot be bettered. The supporting cast is excellent as well with Eric Roberts the standout as the kind hearted sailor, Teddy, who assumes the role of the man of the house....at least temporarily. A young Henry Thomas (before E.T.) makes his film debut here, I believe as Sissy's older son Harry. Sissy has great interaction with the children. The film is Sissy's all the way and I believe she should have been nominated for another academy award for this...

Superb acting and setting.
This movie is tops. One of those rare movies you can view again and again for the great acting and the photography and setting. As a story it is true to life. I grew up in a small town during that time and yes, worked on a one person switchboard! Sissy Spacek always gives a top notch performance and she is especially at home in this movie. A mother trying to care for her children and caught in the mores of the '40s and a small town. A wonderful story and wonderfully photographed.

Major underrated treasure
This movie is superb in every imaginable way: the photography, the fidelity to the WWII era in small-town America (I know: I grew up in the 40s in a Texas town just like this one with a telephone/telegraph office-in-a-home), flawless casting, fine writing, inspired directing, mesmerizing story and breathtakingly suspenseful--then achingly tender-- denouement. (Sissy and Eric will meet again, I have no doubt.)

This is one of the very few movies I've thought worth buying to watch again & again.

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