Tom's Wife

From the point of view of Tom's wife, one sees flashes of poignant love and beauty piercing through a dark curtain of daily hardships and shocking tragedy in a tiny, Hill Country community circa 1932. It's all there: life, death, hope, betrayal, humor, sadness, love and justice. This film is an example of great work from a talented cast and crew that we'll be hearing more about in the future. Tom's Wife has won honors and accolades from industry experts and festival audiences. The film's upcoming distribution will make it possible for more film lovers to see a beautiful story, well told by an original filmmaker with obvious heart and integrity.

Annie, an orphan, finds herself in a marriage of necessity and bears the child of a man she doesn't love. She feels trapped by her brutal, animalistic husband, who spends most of the weekdays out getting drunk or in whorehouses. When Annie gets her first taste of respect, love and tenderness from a traveling peddler, things start to complicate even more.

Winner of several awards (four of them at the Microcinema Fest 2004), Tom's Wife is most unusual for a microcinema production: This effective drama is set in 1932, in rural Texas. It's a simple, slowly-paced story that has captured successfully the mood of the period both in the images and the in performances. Annie (Meredith May) soon wins the audience with the fragile innocence concealed in her child-like face, beautifully photographed by Jessica Gallant. The compositions and the soft texture of the image successfully recreate the feel of a bygone time.

Some might argue that the film is slow. But it is a film about the little moments of these people's life: Slow and fascinating if you accept its naturalistic flow. A few elements, however, hamper the overall tone of the film, like the appearance of an almost farcical character towards the end. And Annie's build up to the violent conclusion could have been developed more effectively, and some plot points need tightening.

However, putting those minor flaws aside, Tom's Wife is a wonderful achievement, a solid period drama that deserves to be picked up by a movie cable channel.

Four Stars.