SHILOH
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.5 Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
United States, 1997 U.S. Release Date: 5/97 (wide) Running Length: 1:33 MPAA Classification: PG (Mild violence) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Blake Heron, Michael Moriarty, Scott Wilson, Ann Dowd, J. Madison Wright, Rod Steiger, Bonnie Bartlett Director: Dale Rosenbloom Producers: Zane W. Levitt and Dale Rosenbloom Screenplay: Dale Rosenbloom based on the novel by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Cinematography: Frank Byers Music: Joel Goldsmith U.S. Distributor: Legacy Releasing
Perhaps Disney should take a lesson from writer/director Dale Rosenbloom regarding how to make a family film. SHILOH, Rosenbloom's first foray into the field of family entertainment, easily outclasses any live-action movie the Mouseketeers have released in the last three or four years. Here are some Disney staples that SHILOH has managed to avoid: plastic characters, ogre-like adults afflicted with terminal stupidity, moronic humor, pointless action sequences, and a nauseating overdose of cuteness.
Rosenbloom has remembered something that Disney has forgotten: the key to fashioning good family entertainment is to make the movie enjoyable to everyone in the family, not just the five and six-year olds. Any adult who has suffered through the likes of 101 DALMATIANS (live action), JUNGLE 2 JUNGLE, and THAT DARN CAT! will appreciate what Rosenbloom has wrought with this low-key, thoughtful motion picture. He takes the time and effort to develop real, imperfect characters rather than recycling familiar types.
I have never been a big fan of "animal in danger" tales, but SHILOH is far better than most. Not only does it show the animal, a one-year old beagle, being abused (although not graphically), but it doesn't turn the dog into some sort of living cartoon character. Likewise, the young protagonist, 11 year old Marty Preston (Blake Heron), doesn't have all the answers and isn't constantly outsmarting his parents. And the film's villain, Judd Travers (Scott Wilson), isn't just inherently evil -- there's a legitimate reason why he's so nasty, as Marty comes to find out during the movie's second half.
SHILOH takes place in the tiny town of Friendly, West Virginia. It's a lazy summer and Marty is wandering around town looking for odd jobs to earn a little cash. On his way home one day, he encounters a beagle with a cut over its eye. It follows him, and Marty, a loner by nature, develops an immediate attachment to the injured animal. He even gives it a name -- Shiloh -- after the bridge where he encountered it. His father (Michael Moriarty) recognizes Shiloh as the new hunting dog of the reclusive Judd Travers, and Marty reluctantly agrees to return it, even though he suspects Judd of mistreating the animal. Several days later, Shiloh again runs away from Judd, and this time, when the dog seeks him out, Marty decides not to tell his parents. So, with the help of his friend Samantha (J. Madison Wright), he hides the beagle in a fort and sneaks food to it every night. But it's only a matter of time before someone else learns his secret.
The strength of SHILOH is that it approaches its subject matter intelligently. There are no easy answers to Marty's dilemma -- the Law is on Judd's side, but the boy believes his position is morally defensible. At one point, when his father accuses him of not doing the right thing, Marty's response is a simple question: "What's right?" Later, the kindhearted town doctor (played by Rod Steiger) tells him that if he wants to keep Shiloh, he may be forced to fight for the dog.
The adults in SHILOH are not one-dimensional. Marty's dad, despite being somewhat domineering and old-fashioned, understands his son's affection for Shiloh, and, to a degree, is willing to support him. Likewise, Mrs. Preston (Ann Dowd) is developed into more than a sympathetic maternal figure lurking in the background. Everyone, from a veteran like Rod Steiger to a newcomer like Blake Heron, gives a heartfelt and believable performance.
SHILOH, which is adapted from a Newberry Award winning book, fits nicely into the class of better animal-related family films, joining the ranks of LASSIE and BLACK BEAUTY. And, while the primary target audience is undeniably children, few adults who sit through this motion picture will wish they had done otherwise. SHILOH represents something that's all too rare at theaters these days: a pleasant surprise.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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