Lt. Colonel Wilbur "Bull" Meecham(Robert Duvall,well-cast and brilliant)is one of the best Marine pilots in the Corps and would be perfectly at home at any war(and were guessing he saw some action,either or both in Korea and WWII),gutsy,smart,determined and brave as all get out. Unfortunately for him,the years is 1962,and other than a VERY chilly Cold War(strange,incidentally,that the Cuban Missile crisis,to my recollect,never came up in this film. Not once!),there is no real battle for him to ply his well-honed skills.
This does not bode particularly well for his large,loving and recessive family. His wife Lillian(Blythe Danner,lilting beauty),a head-strong Catholic Southern belle,adores her husband but is all-too aware of his temper and ego;his oldest son Ben(Michael O'Keefe in a truly underrated performance),is equal parts his own,thoughtful,sensitive young man coming into his own and yet very much like his father in more basic ways;the oldest daughter Mary Ann(Lisa Jane Persky,not wasting ANY of her scenes) feels like the red-headed stepchild,literally AND figuratively,and the two youngest(Julie Anne Haddock and Brian Andrews),who seem lost in the shuffle. They love their husband/father,but seem to be completely powerless against his unrelenting competitive persona and gruff persona. Bull saves his strongest lessons and,in his mind,greatest spoils for Ben,and this is where the movie is at its strongest.
A side story where Ben befriends Toomer(Stan Shaw),the gentle,stuttering son of their housekeeper is well-meant and touching in and of itself,but seems somewhat misplaced here.
As a whole movie,it feels like a bit of a mash-up;I suspect that screenwriter and director Lewis John Carlino figured that he had to "boil down" Pat Conroy's novel to make a neat,two-hour-fitting narrative,but it feels a bit forced. I'd also be lying if I said that I didn't think that some elements(the music,editing,pacing come to mind)age badly,because they seem to have done just that. With all that said,however,the actors from Duvall,himself a Navy vet to Shaw's Toomer are so heartfelt,intense and memorable that this movie is able to hold up with ANY vibrancy some thirty years after its release. Worth a look,particularly for military families and/or fans of the actors involved.
This does not bode particularly well for his large,loving and recessive family. His wife Lillian(Blythe Danner,lilting beauty),a head-strong Catholic Southern belle,adores her husband but is all-too aware of his temper and ego;his oldest son Ben(Michael O'Keefe in a truly underrated performance),is equal parts his own,thoughtful,sensitive young man coming into his own and yet very much like his father in more basic ways;the oldest daughter Mary Ann(Lisa Jane Persky,not wasting ANY of her scenes) feels like the red-headed stepchild,literally AND figuratively,and the two youngest(Julie Anne Haddock and Brian Andrews),who seem lost in the shuffle. They love their husband/father,but seem to be completely powerless against his unrelenting competitive persona and gruff persona. Bull saves his strongest lessons and,in his mind,greatest spoils for Ben,and this is where the movie is at its strongest.
A side story where Ben befriends Toomer(Stan Shaw),the gentle,stuttering son of their housekeeper is well-meant and touching in and of itself,but seems somewhat misplaced here.
As a whole movie,it feels like a bit of a mash-up;I suspect that screenwriter and director Lewis John Carlino figured that he had to "boil down" Pat Conroy's novel to make a neat,two-hour-fitting narrative,but it feels a bit forced. I'd also be lying if I said that I didn't think that some elements(the music,editing,pacing come to mind)age badly,because they seem to have done just that. With all that said,however,the actors from Duvall,himself a Navy vet to Shaw's Toomer are so heartfelt,intense and memorable that this movie is able to hold up with ANY vibrancy some thirty years after its release. Worth a look,particularly for military families and/or fans of the actors involved.