movies are dominated by the aforementioned explosions, sexy vampires, and such, I find it refreshing to see a good, old-fashioned, film about real people -set in the South. Billy Bob has proven on more than one occasion that he can handle drama, action, or comedy equally well, and on this, his first acting/di- recting gig since his Daddy and Them in 2001, he re- minds every- one of just how much talent there is inside this ol’ St. Louis Car- dinals fan. Jane
home in Alabama with the rest of her family. Of course this sets up the scene very nicely for the meeting of two very different families brought together by one woman. Duvall is surrounded by equally great ac-
tors including the three gentlemen who por- tray his sons: Billy Bob Thorn- ton as Skip; Robert Patrick as Jimbo; and Kevin Bacon as Caroll, a man who’s just returned from service in the Vietnam War, grown his hair and taken to protesting the war. When the Bed-
Mansfield’s Car flows along like a backwoods mountain stream. It never gets rushed, and I for one like that. I’ve always been one to appreciate the white space. That is, the unencumbered area around the subject in a photograph; the pauses between notes in a guitar solo; or the pregnant pauses in a stage play or film - to me that’s what creates the drama. Set in Alabama during the early 1960’s,
Mansfield is filled to the brim with superstar talent. I cannot say enough good about Robert Duvall. He has always been and re- mains one of my favorite actors of all time. Duvall turns in an extraordinary performance here as Jim Caldwell, a father whose wife left him back when the kids were little after meet- ing a man while in Great Britain and deciding to stay there with him. Now, many years later, her long time British husband Kingsley Bed- ford (John Hurt) has contacted Jim Cald- well’s family, saying that his wife has passed on, and that she requested to be buried back
Billy Bob in Director mode with Robert Duvall, on the set in Cedartown, Georgia.
fords are offered a room in the families ranch
house during their stay, Jim Caldwell is far from the welcoming host, still holding a major grudge against Kingsley for taking his wife away years earlier. But after inviting Kingsley along to indulge in his favorite ob- session - auto wreck viewing - the two begin to form a bond. Meanwhile, the kids are forming their own bonds, as Donna (Kather- ine LaNasa) is getting really close to Bedford’s son Phillip (Ray Stevenson), and Skip Cald- well (Thornton) is getting his cheap thrills via the sexy Camilla Bedford (Frances O’Conner). The supporting cast are all excellent, in-
cluding Shawnee Smith (Saw, The Stand), who plays Jimbo’s wife Vicky; Tippi Hedren as Naomi Caldwell; and Ron “Tater Salad” White is a hoot. And how about it for friends in cameo roles? Michael “Bubba” Bruce as a salmon pattie loving cop and Chuck Leavell as a barber shop patron. I loved it.
-Michael Buffalo Smith
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