secondtake
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2005)A chipper, sometimes funny, sometimes balmy film about the brilliance and determination of one woman during the apparently naive commercial idiocy of the 1950s in the United States.And Julianne Moore nails it as Evelyn, making this quirky, lightweight story take on a tinge of truth and depth. Enough to make it a fun film, but also a trenchant one. At times.Woody Harrelson plays the husband here, with not quite as much conviction as you'd like (he's a better middle class grunt in "True Detectives"). And Laura Dern has a really small role as an echo of the housewife played by Moore. What the woman have in common here is not just willfully playing out their roles as homemakers, which is fair enough, and of secondary characters outside the home, which is not. They are also contest players—and winners. Evelyn in particular has a knack for a turn of phrase that fits the corny jingles and slogans of this pre- Mad Men era in advertising.Part of the appeal here is easily the re-creation of the world, with its cars and houses and clothes. And attitudes. I'm just young enough to not know if it's accurate, and just old enough to know that it's exaggerated. And yet tongue is not quite in cheek here. There's the feeling that this is all meant to seem exactly how it was, and that's where it's a little too "Donna Reed" all along. I can only assume that life was a little less shallow than it comes off here. But who knows? It did strike me that the timing was off at times, that the cars were at times too old for the year (back then, people in the suburbs upgraded their cars often), and the music was out of sync by far. The push for a false innocence is closer to a Wes Anderson fantasy than anything.Which is fine! It's still "a gas" to watch, "terrif" from beginning to end. And Julianne Moore is quite amazing, as complex and interesting as the character needed to be. And under the radar movie. Recommended.
tlelliott-mn
My only quarrel is Hollywood's inability to get the costume, music, and other details of the 50s-60s era accurate.When the main character goes to Goshen, Indiana, she takes country roads instead of the interstate-- which was long finished by 1963.The ladies are all dressed and wearing gloves, but women wouldn't wear gloves in 1963 for anything less formal than a church service or a country club party. The dresses/gloves outfits date from about 1958.The music played in the car on this 1963 trip is "How High the Moon," a hit for Les Paul and Mary Ford in 1951. By 1963, Elvis, the Beatles, and rock and roll were well-established.Also the kids were wearing what look like brand new saddle shoes, and brand new Converse All-stars. Doubtful for this family.Details, but these and others were off.
dsue69
First, The One writer is one of the children, the daughter of the main character in this wonderful film. The character played by Julianne Moore( Brilliant) Must have brought this film to life and it was so moving to see her good deeds did not go unpunished (J/K watch the movie) and her husband was Woody Harrelson (you wanted to hate) who was the Dad everyone must have had during those times but nobody else would know of it B/C in those days Nobody spoke of such things.Best quote of the the film"I don't need you to make me happy, I just need you to leave me alone when I am" I truly cannot say enough positive things about this movie*sleeper hit*
mrtnn
Yet another highly rated film on IMDb that makes me realize people crave over-sentimental, simplified Hollywood "this movie is based on a real story" junk. I'm a huge Julianne Moore fan (and loved her in The Hours and Far From Heaven, two much better films where she also explored the niche of the retro mom. Here the script left her without much to do.Woody Harrelson's over-the-top, padded pot-bellied father is a performance that would better fit on Saturday Night Live. It's cartoonish and clumsy, and certainly doesn't help the film to achieve any kind of resonance.Movies have tried this kind of glossy nostalgia about parents from the kid's eye view much better before. Compare this to Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story. It seemed fresh and funny, also with voice over narration, but NOT with the jaw droppingly clumsy device of Julianne Moore walking through the film as "ghost mom". I was shaking my head in disbelief at the early scenes of Julianne Moore cuddling up to...Julianne Moore. Man, maybe it would have been ever better with THREE Julianne Moores! The ghost of Julianne Moore Past, The ghost of Julianne Moore PRESENT and the ghost of Julianne Moore YET TO COME.I know i'll be chastised and vilified by all the previous posters who "loved" this film. But so be it. It was a painful 96 minutes, and if I can save a few people the rental fee, I've done my job. PASS ON THIS ONE. I'm sure Woody and Julianne have already buried it in their filmographies. There's a reason it disappeared fast...trust me.
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