Directed by:
Mark RydellCinematography:
Vilmos ZsigmondComposer:
John WilliamsCast:
Mel Gibson, Sissy Spacek, Shane Bailey, Becky Jo Lynch, Scott Glenn, Billy Green Bush, James Tolkan, Barry Primus, Jack Starrett, Charles Robinson, Jim Antonio (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Mae and Tom Garvey (Sissy Spacek and Mel Gibson) are farmers at a time (the mid-1980s) when bankers, real-estate agents, and nature itself threaten to destroy their way of life. When the local river floods and nearly destroys the farms around it, hardship hits the area. The Garveys are also at odds with the local power authority and one of its chief officers, Joe Wade (Scott Glenn), who has plans to build a dam and flood the land for a hydroelectric project. Though the family stoically attempts to continue working its farm, massive debts and a poor season finally force Tom Garvey to accept a low-paying factory job as a scab. As they struggle to keep going, Wade hovers vulturelike over the Garvey farm, waiting for its demise. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Videos (1)
Reviews (1)
Stubborn farmer Mel and the Agro Baron Scott Glenn size up the corn, and it's a bit of a mystery for the viewer why it's so significant, considering it mesmerizes the crops, livestock, and even the John Deere tractor's transmission. Then there’s the struggle between human solidarity and tenacity against exploitative capitalists, who are worse than natural forces. However, since Mark Rydell lacks a more believable psychological depth beyond the main conflict, neither aspect works very well, and the parallel between the doe surrounded by strikebreakers and the strikebreakers surrounded by strikers feels like a futile attempt at something greater. Gibson, playing the obstinate character with all the rigidity of a sawn-off shotgun stock, later regretted that his casting was a “miscast” because he was too young and handsome at the time. Sure, and with that longer ear of grain... that’s what it was all about!
()
