ULEE'S GOLD
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 8.0 Alternative Scale: ***1/2 out of ****
United States, 1997 U.S. Release Date: 6/20/97 (limited) Running Length: 1:51 MPAA Classification: R (Profanity, violence) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Peter Fonda, Patricia Richardson, Jessica Biel, J. Kenneth Campbell, Christine Dunford, Steven Flynn, Dewey Weber, Tom Wood, Vanessa Zima Director: Victor Nunez Producer: Victor Nunez Screenplay: Victor Nunez Cinematography: Virgil Marcus Mirano Music: Charles Engstrom U.S. Distributor: Orion Classics
ULEE'S GOLD is the first movie since MICROCOSMOS to prod my thoughts towards the invisible world of insects (bees in particular). This film illustrates that the power of motion pictures isn't always about taking us to strange worlds or putting us in the path of an enraged dinosaur. Instead, it can be something as simple-yet-profound as opening our eyes to how different people survive in the real world. The title character in ULEE'S GOLD is a beekeeper who lives and works in the Florida Panhandle's tupelo marshes, and, although this is a narrative feature, not a documentary, it taught me a great deal about the difficulties of harvesting of honey. Yet, as important as honeycombs and beekeeping are to the story, they are not the central focus. This movie, from writer/director Victor Nunez, whose previous film was Ashley Judd's debut, RUBY IN PARADISE, is about damaged characters and fractured relationships. Ultimately, it's this aspect of the film that makes it compelling; the honey-making stuff is an added bonus.
It's worth noting that Ulee (Peter Fonda, in a performance that recalls the work of his late father, Henry Fonda) is more comfortable dealing with his bees than with people. Since the death of his wife six years ago, he has turned into a physical and emotional recluse. He lives with his two granddaughters, Penny (Vanessa Zima) and Casey (Jessica Biel), who were abandoned by their parents. Their father and Ulee's son, Jimmy (Tom Wood), is serving a sentence for armed robbery. Their mother, Helen (Christine Dunford), has dropped out of sight. One day, during the busiest time of the honey-making season, Ulee receives a call from Jimmy, who claims that a couple of his former criminal associates have located Helen, strung out on drugs, in Orlando. Reluctantly, Ulee makes the trip to bring his daughter-in-law home, and, in the process, becomes involved in a search for old robbery money.
The crime-related activities of ULEE'S GOLD represent the film's least interesting aspect, and the criminals (played by Steven Flynn and Dewey Weber) scarcely rise about the stereotype level. Fortunately, the movie offers far richer and more complex elements, such as how Ulee relates to Penny, a quiet, introverted child who misses her mother, and Casey, a rebellious teenager. Or how he struggles to mend fences with Jimmy and Helen. Or how he learns to once again trust outsiders, including the local sheriff (J. Kenneth Campbell) and Connie (Patricia Richardson), an attractive nurse renting a house across the street.
With ULEE'S GOLD, Peter Fonda reminds us that he is capable of much more than making quirky cameos in the likes of LOVE AND A .45, BODIES REST AND MOTION, and ESCAPE FROM L.A. This is a subtle, nuanced performance that brings to the fore all of Ulee's pain and uncertainty, then hides it beneath a carefully-constructed facade. Fonda shows us a man who wants to relate to those around him, but is no longer sure how. It's fitting that Ulee bonds with his daughter-in-law and granddaughters amidst the bees and honeycombs.
Supporting Fonda is a cast of fresh and familiar faces. Patricia Richardson, best known for her role in TV's HOME IMPROVEMENT, plays a decidedly different sort of character here, and acquits herself admirably. As Ulee's granddaughters, Vanessa Zima (THE BABYSITTERS' CLUB) and newcomer Jessica Biel give strong, unaffected performances. Christine Dunford has the difficult task of essaying the drugged-out Helen, and Tom Wood is quietly effective as Jimmy.
Nunez's script is thoughtful and intelligent, and it challenges his actors with fully-formed personalities for them to breathe life into (Peter Fonda, in fact, called Ulee "the best character I've ever read"). The highest compliment I can offer ULEE'S GOLD is that it plays more like real life than a movie. During the course of the film, we learn a little about the different grades of honey. And, just as the light golden Tupelo is in the top echelon, so too is ULEE'S GOLD.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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