Ulee's Gold

A pretty good little movie. The pace is a little slow, and often not much seems to be happening. This is not a bad thing here. Hollywood is usually so formulaic that they must not be discouraged when they try something a little different. Everything worked well here, the acting, the photography, the direction. Yes, Peter Fonda turned in a fine performance. I wonder if as much would have been made of this if Fonda hadn't spent most of his career playing in total stinkers, though. The small-time crooks, Fonda must deal with (including his son) are such losers they seem directly imported from an Elmore Leonard novel. Special mention for the child actress Vanessa Zima (Penny Jackson). She performed wonderfully in her role, full of soulful and meaningful looks. Either she is a very good child actress, or the casting director did a great job finding a girl who looks the part.

After seeing this movie, I could not help but notice that Peter Fonda resembled a later day version of Tom Joad - a character that his father, Henry, played in "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940). Fonda deserved the Golden Globe for this movie. I liked the depth of his character, Ulee Jackson. The story is sluggish at times, but the performances shine from start to finish. Score: 8 (out of 10).

Surely one of the best human dramas of the last few years, Peter Fonda is great as Ulee Jackson, a deeply wounded but incredibly strong man who by sheer strength of will reaches out to drag back together a shattered family. His performance is a masterpiece of understatement; we can almost physically sense the roiling depths of anger and resentment that lie below his cold, almost imperturbable exterior. The crime subplot never takes precedence over the gripping family drama that is the movie's core. It is wonderful to see the various characters gradually becoming re-integrated into a functioning family; i.e. The daughter's appearing late at night in the work area to help Ulee, whose restrictions up to then she has mightily resented, with his backbreaking work.

Few have commented on the double entendre of the movie's title. Ulee's "Gold" is, on its surface, the honey he works to produce. At the film's conclusion we see that "Gold" might also refer to the long-lost money that is at the crime subplot's core. In actuality, we could have a TRIPLE entendre in that we can see that the real "Gold" might actually refer to the family he has brought together again.

For me, 90 % of the american movies of the 1990's stinks. Ulee's gold is a part of the 10 % left of very good and intelligent movie. The photography is wonderful and the members of Peter Fonda's family are all great (the two bad boys are weak). For me, this is the cultural United States portrayed in a movie. Not all that Titanic or Star Wars stuff, but this kind of movie where people and realistic characters are important. And it's a great come back for mister Fonda.

This movie is great in a number of ways. For a start, it shows Peter Fonda is a truly accomplished screen actor and not merely Henry's son, Jane's brother or Bridget's dad. It is a pity that he has had so few good roles to play over the years and his acting career has been largely disappointing. However,he totally brings the character of Ulee to life . Ulee is a decent man trying to do the right thing and when you see this film you are behind him all the way, willing him to overcome all the obstacles he encounters.This film, while a mostly straightforward simple tale,lifts the spirits and is a direct result of how positive the script is. Peter Fonda should make more films like this or he soon might find himself looking for the few good 'grandfather' roles out there in the movie world.