@Byline:By Michael Redman
Ulee's Gold A Film Review By Michael Redman Copyright 1997 Michael Redman
*** (out of ****)
This "small" film concerning the life a beekeeper in the Florida panhandle is surprisingly enjoyable. The biggest surprise is that, as many people do, Peter Fonda has become his father. At times he is the spitting image of his old man with the same lean body, gaunt face and eccentric mannerisms.
Ulee Jackson (Fonda) is a Vietnam vet who has never recovered from his wife's death several years ago and would like nothing more than to retire from the world and spend his the rest of his life tending his bees and harvesting Tupelo Honey. Because his estranged son Jimmy (Tom Wood) is in prison and his daughter-in-law Helen (Christine Dunford) abandoned the family, Ulee is raising his two granddaughters. He's doing the best he can in a situation that he didn't create.
And things get worse. Jimmy calls to tell him that Helen is strung out and staying with his former partners-in-crime in Orlando. She needs rescuing. Ulee's existence is based on duty: to the bees, to his little girls and now to Helen. He drives his pick-up to carry the unconscious woman back home.
The robbers are archetypal sleezoids and threaten the family unless Ulee comes up with money that Jimmy kept from the robbery and hid in a swamp. Unlike other directors, Victor Nunez doesn't go for the big gun shoot-em-up scenes. The intimidation and threat of harm are readily apparent and create a tension, but the only actual violence is realistically understated.
With the help of a nurse neighbor, he helps Helen through her cold turkey while, at the same time, attempts to deal with the threats. His life of quiet desperation has gotten a lot louder.
In many ways, it's easy to see Ulee as Fonda's "Easy Rider" Captain America as he has gotten older. (Of course the fact that the character was killed at the end of that generation-defining film makes it a bit difficult for this to be fact.) In that film, he was a loner looking for America, now he is a loner looking for his soul.
Very different from the vast majority of the summer cinema fare, this is a breath of fresh air. Don't expect any explosions or bug-eyed aliens, but you'll find a glimpse into the inner workings of a human being.
[This appeared in the 7/24/97 "Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana. Michael Redman can be reached at mredman@bvoice.com ] -- mailto:mredman@bvoice.com
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