The Rough South of Larry Brown

If you're a Larry Brown fan this film is a must see, and if you love the special ambiance only central Mississippi has, then you must see it. If you're not a Larry Brown fan, I don't know what to say except that you should be. His writing should appeal to anyone who loves to open a book and get lost in it.

My favorite book was FAY so I'd suggest you start there if you haven't read him. Then see this film.

I can't get Larry Brown's face and voice out of my mind. I just watched the film last night. All the heart and sorrow and soul that you find in his writing, you'll find in his face, his eyes, and his voice, and Gary Hawkins has captured it all not just once or twice but over and over in the film.

He's shown us what it was like to be Larry Brown—a beautiful tribute to a man whose voice was silenced far too soon. If I ever doubted that a writer who could put words together in such a beautiful way could also be a man for the common people—so real it hurts sometimes to watch—this film forever banished the idea from my mind.

If you're a struggling writer and want to know what it takes to make it as a writer, please don't miss this documentary. There's something here for you that's worth more than I can tell you.

I hope Gary Hawkins is working on a screenplay for a major movie based on Larry Brown's life – different from a documentary in that it can be a bit more fictionalized. I see a great opportunity for a screenwriter in this man's life. I'd see the movie and I'd even buy it.

How can I buy this or where can I watch this?

I have been searching for this everywhere and can not find where to purchase this documentary.

"The Rough South of Larry Brown" is more than just a documentary. It's an honest look at one of America's most unpretentious literary heroes, created with compassion, passion, and true Southern grace. Gary Hawkins, the film's director, has made many masterpieces (well, in all honesty, every film he's ever made has been a classic), and "The Rough South of Larry Brown" puts him in a league of his own, just like Larry. Larry and his relentless quest to be heard--to having become the legend he is and will always be--is depicted in this film with such clarity, such immortality, that one can only be thankful to have Larry with us on our screens, in our minds, in our hearts, and our bookshelves, as we follow his determination toward the craft with awe, the utmost respect, in our one sojourns to be heard ourselves. And I'm forever in Hawkins' debt, for constructing such a classic for the world to see and understand, for showcasing Larry's Mississippi heart and voice that will forever be etched into my own. God Bless you Larry, and thank you Gary Hawkins! KR

This is a review for the documentary film, "The Rough South of Larry Brown". The artistry in Larry Brown's writing is found in the way he tells his stories. This documentary finds artistry in the way it tells of Larry Brown. I was a fan of Brown's writing before this film. However, I don't think it is necessary to be familiar with his work in order to enjoy this documentary. This is because of the honest way it represents Brown's slow, Southern writing style. It acts as a companion to Brown's stories, style, and life. By mixing classic documentary techniques, such as interviews and family photos, with the narrative Filmmaking of three short films based on Brown's short stories, filmmaker Gary Hawkins has created a documentary that is a part of its subject as much as it is an exploration of it. Through the course of the film we are told the unique story of Brown's discovery of writing, which didn't occur until his thirties, and his subsequent development of that disciplined craft. Woven into Brown's life story are the three short narrative films based on his stories: "Boy and Dog", "Samaritans", and "Wild Thing". The insights we gain into the writing are provided by the insights we gain into the writer. We see the characters on screen struggle with their problems right alongside Brown himself. This makes us feel like we are getting a complete portrait of this person, a task not often accomplished in biographical documentaries.

I am a huge Gary Hawkins fan--the work is beautiful, energized, intense, and wholly original. I use this film (THE ROUGH SOUTH OF LARRY BROWN) in my narrative technique classes and students come to Larry Brown's work, but fiction-writing in general, with passion and openness after seeing the film. Hawkins tells many stories within the main story--bringing the writer and his work to life in ways that are simply stunning, unforgettable. I can't imagine not having this film! My students' favorite sections are those where all the magazine titles of all the places that rejected the stories are shown, in Brown's hand. Highly recommend.