A Thousand Acres
1997
A THOUSAND ACRES, director Jocelyn Moorhouse's screen adaptation of Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, finds skeins of KING LEAR-like conflict running through the bedrock of a midwestern family. Jason Robards stars as Larry Cook, a powerful, stoic Iowa farmer who decides to retire and split his 1,000 acres of land .. Read more
| Starring | Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Colin Firth |
|---|---|
| Director | Jocelyn Moorhouse |
| Genres | Drama |
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A Thousand Acres
A THOUSAND ACRES, director Jocelyn Moorhouse's screen adaptation of Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, finds skeins of KING LEAR-like conflict running through the bedrock of a midwestern family. Jason Robards stars as Larry Cook, a powerful, stoic Iowa farmer who decides to retire and split his 1,000 acres of land among his three daughters. His two eldest daughters, Rose (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Ginny (Jessica Lange), live and work on the farm and happily accept the lucrative agreement, while the youngest, Larry's favorite, Caroline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), has abandoned farming life for a law career in Des Moines and refuses to take part in the deal. Initially, Larry is consumed with rage and shuts out Caroline while Rose and Ginny go about running the farm with their dutiful but greedy husbands. However, as Larry begins to lose touch with his farming life, he loses touch with reality, and his painful descent into madness leaves him bitterly opposed to his daughters' ways of running the farm. Paranoid and disillusioned, he decides to sue Rose and Ginny with Caroline's help in an effort to regain his patriarchal control. The lawsuit divides the family forever, leaving Rose and Ginny to suffer alone while realising painful memories from their childhood. As Rose and Ginny discover their own individual strengths in the face of adversity, they learn how to survive on their own, without the protection of the farm and the suffocating presence of their father. Moorhouse's film is an epic tale of loss and redemption that highlights strong and earthy performances from Pfeiffer and Lange.
| Starring | Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Colin Firth, Keith Carradine, Kevin Anderson, Pat Hingle, Jason Robards, Michelle Williams |
|---|---|
| Director | Jocelyn Moorhouse |
| Studio | UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 41 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 06 Mar 2006 Production year: 1997 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (5)
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This modern reworking of King Lear, based on Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, is an anti-men melodrama given weight and class by its three female leads — Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange and Jennifer Jason Leigh. They play the sisters who fall out over some family land that is to be divided up by their gruff father Jason Robards. Their conflict, and their relationships with the men in their lives, form the centre of the film. While relentlessly downbeat thanks to Jocelyn Moorhouse's (How to Make an American Quilt) pedestrian direction, this is nonetheless a rare showcase for three of Hollywood's best actresses, and it also features accomplished performances from Colin Firth (complete with convincing American accent), Kevin Anderson and Keith Carradine.
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A variation on King Lear, set in America's Midwest, this is no more than a melodramatic soap opera that muddles and muddies not only Shakespeare's play, but also Smiley's novel.
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Most helpful member's review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
An everyday story of country folk!
Having read Jane Smiley's book, we knew we were in for a melodrama!
I'll not do a resume of the plot as the Radio Times film guide covers it very well.
Good to see Michelle Pfeiffer in a 'serious role'. Direction very slow and music often intrusive. Robards, Carradine, Lange, Jason Leigh and Pfeiffer act well but I have my doubts about the casting of Colin Firth as Jess.
It seemed to go on for ever but wasn't as long as I thought.
I wouldn't really recommend this unless one is an ardent fan of any of the cast. -
Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
An everyday story of country folk!
Having read Jane Smiley's book, we knew we were in for a melodrama!
I'll not do a resume of the plot as the Radio Times film guide covers it very well.
Good to see Michelle Pfeiffer in a 'serious role'. Direction very slow and music often intrusive. Robards, Carradine, Lange, Jason Leigh and Pfeiffer act well but I have my doubts about the casting of Colin Firth as Jess.
It seemed to go on for ever but wasn't as long as I thought.
I wouldn't really recommend this unless one is an ardent fan of any of the cast. -
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A THOUSAND ACRES, director Jocelyn Moorhouse's screen adaptation of Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, finds skeins of KING LEAR-like conflict running through the bedrock of a midwestern ... -