Ricordando Hemingway

The teaming of Robert Duvall and Richard Harris sounded promising even before this film opened, and neither disappoint in this tale of a couple of elderly oddballs having one last fling. Walter (Duvall) is a shy man, who has never danced with a woman, and whose only friend is a young waitress (Sandra Bullock) for whom he has developed a quaint affection. Frank (Harris) is a boaster, who claims to have wrestled with Hemingway – hence the film's title – who antagonises his landlady (Shirley MacLaine) and his lady friend (Piper Laurie); his family largely ignore him.

The beauty of this film, written by twenty-one year old Steve Conrad and directed by Randa Haines, is that it gives you both a belief in the characters, and a genuine interest in what will happen to them. As Walter and Frank, misfits both, become friends, we cheer them on and are concerned for them at the same time. There can't be a happy ending for both of them (and there isn't), but this movie really is a celebration of age and what can be achieved beyond the prime of life. Bullock, Laurie and MacLaine are fine in small, less showy role, but this movie belongs squarely to Duvall and Harris.

If you are a Duvall nut, as I shall forever be, you must rush out and rent this immediately. I spent last night cuddled up with my husband sobbing quietly at this rich and beautifully told story of a shy Cuban barber and a salty sea captain thrown together in retirement hell. They make, needless to say, a momentary paradise out of their touching and sly friendship. Some of the best ensemble acting you will ever witness. Go...now!

A wonderful character driven film, brilliantly crafted by a gifted director and some of the best acting ever put on film. Robert Duvall inhabits his retired-barber character to the point of being unable to picture him as anyone else, let alone the hard-ass Vietnam Colonel Kilgore who "loves the smell of napalm in the morning". The first time I watched this movie (and trust me, it's worth watching again and again) I completely forgot the actor and was watching the life of this Cuban transplant unfold. And please, oh please, let Richard Harris find another role within which to shine as he did this one. He may be a prolific actor, but I hate to see his talent wasted in such "blockbusters" as Gladiator and Harry Potter.... His face, his eyes... you feel the distance and sorrow his character feels without his uttering a word. Brilliant. I'm constantly amazed when I mention this film that NOBODY seems to have seen it! One of my top ten favorite films of all time.

I got some good belly laughs watching the antics of these two gents dealing with retirement and loneliness. Duvall was superb, as always, but Harris stole the show with his constant search for companionship and his relentless quest for sex - something I suspect he was no longer capable of. Well worth seeing.

In life, one of the simple pleasures for me is getting a haircut, closing your eyes and feeling someone's massaging fingers on your scalp, snipping your wet hair, in the caring hands of an old pro. I came to this fifteen minutes in -- I hope I didn't miss anything crucial -- but in a way, the movies we watch having missed a portion are always more interesting. This is a just a small, easy slice-of-life drama -- a perfect example of a "good little movie," the kind to watch on a Sunday afternoon with someone you love. An actor who never stops taking chances and a master of understatement, Robert Duvall slides into his role of a humble, honorable, respecting Cuban so perfectly here and he's complemented by excellent work from Richard Harris, as the well-meaning but coarse drunken loudmouth ex-sailor in the park he befriends out of a need to simply not be alone anymore. Because of their mastery, we grow so attached to these fully-formed characters that it honestly hurts to leave.

The film is exceptionally well-paced, and written with fresh dialogue and immensely touching observances. There's a scene where Duvall learns his favorite waitress is moving away (Sandra Bullock, with appropriate charm), and the expression on his face and hesitance in his speech rips your heart clean out. Then there's the buried disappoint on his face when he sees her reaction to the farewell gift of vodka suggested by Harris. Where Duvall has his junior league baseball games and poignant dancing in his apartment (alone), Harris gets positively hostile towards a woman (Piper Laurie) in a movie theater (where he works, thanks to a spiffy haircut by Duvall) and Shirley MacLaine, also in his housing complex. The plot is thin but in the meandering vignettes there are superb moments, like Harris accosting Duvall in the street about his fantasy of dancing (whether it comes true, you'll have to watch), or later, Duvall insisting that Harris be a well-dressed gentleman at all times. The sentimental score and old time Cuban music enhance the movie; it's quiet and wonderful -- the years may fly by, but the summer days are nice and slow. 9/10