Run the Wild Fields

An extensive effort is made by all involved to present an accurate background of a small town in the U.S. and its close connection to martial affairs on varying fronts in 1945. A suite of scenes is given sincere attention by the director, Paul Kaufman, in his feature film debut. The text of Rodney Vaccaro's script, based upon his play, is remarkably well done in light of his hideous attempt at comedy with the misfire "Three to Tango". This film is nicely cast, and standout performances are given by Sean Patrick Flanery, Joanne Whalley, and a brilliant Alexa Vega. Insertion of specific details relating to the final year of the war is not overdone, and the fairly complex plot is permitted to develop as a mirror of the players' emotions. Noteworthy is the amassing of detail that is essential to a drama showcasing a wide range of character interaction. In sum, a vital and scarcely known work.

Sean Patrick Flannery is reserved as a drifter who comes to a small town looking for work. Though the town believes he is a coward since he is not in the War, a young girl, who's mother has hired him to help run the farm now that her husband has disappeared in the War, finds the drifter fascinating and is torn as to whether she wants her father to return at all. The leads are fine and this is a quick watch without any heavy impact.

I found this video at Blockbuster - and was I thrilled! It is a quiet movie but it sucks you into the lives of these people involved and makes you feel like your watching a real group -- not just a movie. I really recommend this film - and I usually go for action films not drama. This is a Drama well worth your time.

Somebody asked what the "radio waves" speech was all about. I believe Tom is trying, without reference to Christianity, to say that we are all immortal in the sense that radio waves are immortal. Even though FDR is dead, his words will continue to bounce, forever, like radio waves, from star to star in the universe. This struck me as a quite touching and genuine moment in the film. I was less enchanted with the biography provided for Tom, especially as it became known at the most opportune moment (the scene when Tom is being heroic). But the performances by the three leads were enough to keep me interested in this bittersweet film.

Simply put, this is a well done film full of characters you come to care about. Joanne Whalley is perfect in this and one of the best roles I have ever seen her in. She is quite believable as a N. Carolina mother. These are the types of roles she's most brilliant at. As the mysterious drifter, Tom, Sean Patrick Flanery, too, stands out in a role that could easily be over-played. The drifter's background is slowly leaked out through the course of the movie, keeping you interesting and wanting to know more about him and those that come to care for him. Alexa Vega was also brilliantly cast in a very mature role for a young actor. While the ending was not what I would have liked (just the romantic in me talking) and the film's plot theme has been done many times before in other films, it doesn't spoil the overall goodness of this movie.