I first heard of Gavin O'Connor's "Tumbleweeds" when star Janet McTeer received an Academy Award nomination for her role therein (it was also the first time that I'd ever heard of her). Unfortunately, the movie didn't get a wide release, so I didn't get a chance to see it. Now that I've finally seen it, I recommend it. A woman fleeing an abusive relationship is a common theme in cinema (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, This Boy's Life) but I liked the complexity of McTeer's character; she may be a hick, but she's one who stands up for herself. It's one of the more hard-hitting movies that you'll see.
Along with this, I hope that Janet McTeer receives more recognition in the coming years. She was particularly good in "Songcatcher", where she played a woman who records the music of people in Appalachia (she more recently appeared as Winston Churchill's wife in the HBO movie "Into the Storm").
All in all, a fine movie. Not a masterpiece, but still one of the many movies from 1999 that showed cinema taking a new, gritty direction (American Beauty, Being John Malkovich, Election, Fight Club, The Sixth Sense).
Along with this, I hope that Janet McTeer receives more recognition in the coming years. She was particularly good in "Songcatcher", where she played a woman who records the music of people in Appalachia (she more recently appeared as Winston Churchill's wife in the HBO movie "Into the Storm").
All in all, a fine movie. Not a masterpiece, but still one of the many movies from 1999 that showed cinema taking a new, gritty direction (American Beauty, Being John Malkovich, Election, Fight Club, The Sixth Sense).