HEARTWOOD
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING: **1/2 OUT OF ****
United States, 1998
U.S. Release Date: 4/17/98 (variable & limited)
Running Length: 1:31
MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Profanity, mild violence,
brief nudity)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Eddie Mills, Hilary Swank, Jason Robards, Randall Batinkoff, John Terry, John Dennis Johnston, Denise Dummont Director: Lanny Cotler Producer: Steve Cotler Screenplay: Steve Cotler and Lanny Cotler Cinematography: Rob Sweeney Music: Ray Colcord
What would happen, I wonder, if Frank Capra was still alive and making films today? Would his unique blend of feel-good optimism and old-fashioned values be accepted by jaded movie-going audiences that increasingly seem to suffer from attention deficit syndrome? Or, can Capra only be appreciated today in black-and-white, as a reminder of what films used to be during "simpler times?" Of course, there's the other side of the coin to consider, as well -- a film trying to recapture Capra's style could easily end up going over-the-top into saccharine melodrama.
HEARTWOOD, an independent production from the Cotler Brothers (Steve produced, Lanny directed, and both shared writing chores), attempts, with limited success, to invoke Capra's memory. The ending, with its obvious nod to IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, mines a vein of goodwill and uplifting sentiment, and, as a result, may seem a little corny and behind-the-times to all but the most uncynical of viewers. Perhaps part of the reason is that, in today's "me-first" world, it doesn't seem reasonable that people would willingly hand over their life's savings to preserve a community and a way of life. So the Cotlers have taken a risk in making this sort of movie in 1998. HEARTWOOD assuredly has an audience out there somewhere; the difficulty for the Cotlers, who are distributing it themselves, is finding it.
Ultimately, the risk might have paid off more handsomely had there not been several obvious production problems. HEARTWOOD, although rooted in the soil of good intentions, is flawed. The film is basically a modern day fairy tale with a happy ending, and, for a movie like this to be entirely successful, it must be crafted with great care and attention to detail. HEARTWOOD suffers from sketchily-developed characters that seem real and believable only about half the time. Worse still, several key scenes are undermined by uneven acting.
The plot of HEARTWOOD combines three different elements into one story. The first, and least-inspired, is a fairly traditional boy- meets-girl romance. The second focuses on a young man trying to find a sense of self-worth. The third, and most consistently interesting, deals with the struggles of a saw mill owner to balance environmental concerns with his desperate need for money. HEARTWOOD's intelligent, non-preachy approach to the ecological disaster befalling California's redwood forest earned it a citation from SAVE AMERICA'S TREES, a forest preservation society. The Cotlers express this aspect of their film subtly, by making the forest a strong presence -- almost to the point where it functions as a supporting character.
HEARTWOOD takes place in the small California town of Deroy (population between 200 and 300), where everyone is employed by the local saw mill, which is owned by the grizzled, life-weary Logan Reeser (Jason Robards). Logan's refusal to rape the forests for quick financial gain has put him deep in debt, and he's in danger of losing the mill to the banks. Coming to his rescue is an unlikely candidate -- Frank (Eddie Mills), Deroy's resident slacker, a jobless college-age young man who spends all day roaming the forests and hunting small animals. After finding a gold nugget in a riverbed, he has a brainstorm that might prove to be Logan's salvation. Meanwhile, Frank has fallen in love with a visiting college student, Sylvia (Hilary Swank), who is also the local hotshot's object of affection. Bolstered by confidence gained from finding the nugget, Frank sets out to win her while impressing her parents and saving the mill.
Aspects of HEARTWOOD work exceptionally well. The cinematography is glorious, running a close second to THE HORSE WHISPERER for the most stunning views of sunrises and sunsets to come across the screen this year. The film also offers insight into the fascinating workings of a community whose entire existence is entwined with the success of a saw mill. I especially liked one character's rationalization for cutting down trees: "It's survival of the fittest." (That hardly seems fair, since the only way a tree can fight back is to fall on you.) There are also a number of effectively-realized character moments, such as one where Frank offers to brush Sylvia's hair as they share a quiet moment.
Unfortunately, there are instances when the plot's preposterous turns are highlighted (rather than camouflaged) by the overwrought performances of the two leads. Eddie Mills and Hilary Swank (THE NEW KARATE KID) are fine when they're not required to depict powerful emotions, but, on those occasions when the script demands passion, tears, rage, or some equally heartfelt display, their performances become awkward and unconvincing, and this hurts HEARTWOOD's believability. Several of the other actors, including Jason Robards, John Terry, and especially Denise Dummont (who stands out despite limited screen time), are quite good, but their effective portrayals are overshadowed by the unevenness exhibited by Mills and Swank.
In many ways, HEARTWOOD reminded me of 1996's THE SPITFIRE GRILL. Although I think the Cotlers' film is somewhat less manipulative and true-to-itself, there are similarities in tone and intent. HEARTWOOD's great strength is its ability to fold an intelligent message seamlessly into the story; its weakness is that the narrative is hurt, rather than helped, by the performances. It's possible to appreciate this kind of film for the way it recalls Capra's spirit; it's just not strong enough to evade the labels of "melodramatic" and "corny."
Copyright 1998 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net
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