A Painted House

Basically the movie consisted of a few highlighted clips from the book. It failed to get across the essence of the book. In particular the sense of family and the desire and ability to help others regardless of economic status.

As I remember, hair was cut a lot shorter in 1952.

I'm sorry I watched the move as it destroyed the good memories that I had from the book.

Perhaps sometimes, we forget, with our plush life and current definition of "poverty", what things were like for rural "working poor" even as recently as the 50's. Survival, even for a man who owned the land, took a different strength of character. Is it good, or is it regretful those times have passed? More money yes, but were better times up North in the auto plants? I suppose, but this is nostalgia, and not bad either. It was a good family movie, narrated like the Waltons, I kept waiting for "goodnight Luke-boy". Yah, Little House on the Prairie too, a bit more reality, but did other commenters really expect this to be as complete as the book, any book? Personally, I'm tired of hearing book-readers whine about "what they left out". Don't watch movies if you read the book. This is certainly wandering reminiscences, but that's another type of literature too, isn't it? Why does every story have to be going somewhere special? To me it's a pretty good coming of age movie and worth the hour and a half at least, and always a pleasure watching Scott Glenn, when he gets good parts. James Welch Henderson Arkansas 4/9/2021.

I'll cut to the chase... there have been lots of adaptations on both movies and TV based on John Grisham novels don't they? THE FIRM, THE PELICAN BRIEF, THE CLIENT (the 1994 movie and the TV show that was made in the two following years), THE CHAMBER, A TIME TO KILL and RUNAWAY JURY are just a few and also the most overplayed on TV. Curiously in the same year of RUNAWAY JURY they made yet another adaptation but as a TV movie, A PAINTED HOUSE. After all those adaptations one would ask if this up-teenth adaptation is good as the others or not. My answer would be... it is, and now I'll discuss it.

The story is set in 1950s Arkansas when the Chandler family composed by Eli (Scott Glenn), Kathleen, Jesse (Robert Sean Leonard), Granny (Melinda Dillon), Luke (Logan Lerman) has to face lots of hardships because the cotton harvest hasn't been successful and they depend on it so they count on increase the production and sell it to the best buyers. They'll succedd not after they ask help to the Spruill family composed by Tally, Pops (Geoffrey Lewis) and Hank (Pablo Schreiber), and the Chandler family will also manage to finish painting the barn referred in the title.

The premise is good but the main reason to watch this is the acting. Glenn as usual never disappoints, Schreiber and Sean Leonard are the standouts of the supporting players and overall, there is a certain feel good atmosphere to it that it makes this a perfect comfort movie (in other words, one of those movies one watches when doesn't want to think too much). Worth seeing since it's also available on YouTube.

Overall entertaining, but you will not find the movie as captivating as the book. I thought that the film was entertaining, but never delivered the emotion and punch that I felt while reading the novel. The Spruill characters were believable, but I had imagined Hank to be a larger and more menacing physical specimen than the movie portrayed.

To the other reviewer I would say that this isn't groundbreaking television or anything but it is hardly as bad as you are making it out to be.

It's just your average TV production, a made for TV movie that actually won an Emmy so it can't be that atrocious can it? Not sure why you hate it so much that you would go online and bash it and make personal accusations about the author and other people involved simply from disliking the movie.

I can'd speak for how realistic it is but as someone who knows nothing about cotton farming but knows a little about farming in general I thought it was realistic enough for a TV story. And I thought the acting was good.