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Northfork
2002
The Polish Brothers conclude their America's Heartland trilogy (TWIN FALLS IDAHO, JACKPOT) with this mesmerizing, surreal drama. It is 1950s Montana, and in two days the small town of Northfork is about to be buried underwater. While most of the residents are willing to accept a forced relocation to higher ground, several .. Read more
| Starring | Peter Coyote, Anthony Edwards, Daryl Hannah, Kyle MacLachlan |
|---|---|
| Director | Mark Polish, Michael Polish |
| Genres | Drama |
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Northfork
The Polish Brothers conclude their America's Heartland trilogy (TWIN FALLS IDAHO, JACKPOT) with this mesmerizing, surreal drama. It is 1950s Montana, and in two days the small town of Northfork is about to be buried underwater. While most of the residents are willing to accept a forced relocation to higher ground, several inhabitants are determined to stay right where they are. A six-man Evacuation Committee--including father-and-son team Walter and Willis O'Brien (James Woods and Mark Polish)--is recruited to convert the stragglers and make sure that no one is left behind. Meanwhile, the somber Father Harlan (Nick Nolte) cares for the increasingly ill Irwin (Duel Farnes), a young child who has begun to have a dialogue with four mysterious angels--Flower Hercules (Darryl Hannah), Cup of Tea (Robin Sachs), Happy (Anthony Edwards), and Cod (Ben Foster). As the deadline nears, the Evacuation Committee struggles with a determined, proud group of residents who don't want to let their town be washed into history. All the while, Irwin continues to have his puzzling visions, adding a literal dose of mortality to the film's already bleak atmosphere. Featuring gorgeously haunting visuals (courtesy of cinematographer M. David Mullen), NORTHFORK confirms the Polish Brothers' status as truly distinct voices in American cinema.
| Starring | Peter Coyote, Anthony Edwards, Daryl Hannah, Kyle MacLachlan, Nick Nolte, Mark Polish, James Woods |
|---|---|
| Director | Mark Polish, Michael Polish |
| Studio | METRODOME DISTRIBUTION |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 39 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 06 Sep 2004 Production year: 2002 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (5)
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This last film in writer/directors Mark and Michael Polish's American heartland trilogy (following Twin Falls Idaho and Jackpot) is a wonky study in magical realism that places absurdist tone and somnambulant pacing over cohesive plotting or interesting characterisation. It's 1955 and the small Montana town of Northfork will be flooded when a nearby dam is built. Six men in black attempt to evacuate the remaining stragglers — including a modern-day Noah who has turned his house into an ark and a dying orphan having visions of angels. Aiming for the quirkiness of the Coens and the visual dreaminess of David Lynch, the Polish brothers' fable about the fear of change instead tumbles into pretentious biblical allegory that becomes increasingly obtuse. Nick Nolte, Daryl Hannah, James Woods and Kyle MacLachlan head the impressive cast lost in the spaces between failed black comedy and indulgent lingering on isolated vistas.
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The Great Plains, Montana, 1955: the town of Northfork is to be flooded for a dam project, and the government's six... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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7 out of 8 people found this review helpful
No forking idea mate!
This film looks fantastic, and I mean really, just great. Imagine two hours of these gorgeously framed, beautifully shot tableaus of bleak Montana landscape. Glorious. Then the Polish Brothers went and populated this wintry landscape with wonderful, weathered, character filled faces such as Woods, Coyote and Nolte. Genius. Unfortunately, clearly the last thing they filled in was the plot. The basic plot of an evacuation with a bit of metaphor would have been fine by itself, but all the stuff about angels is just an exercise in pretension. I like a film that makes you think, but where this film should give you the opportunity to make up your own mind, it denies you the chance. For example, the dying child thinks he is an angel, and is being judged by other (extremely strange!) angels. Is he an angel meeting other angels, or are these his last fevered imaginings inspired by the objects on his bedside table? These are the kind of things that it should be left to the viewer to interpret, but instead we've got poor James Woods pratting about with a pair of genuine angel wings in a suitcase. We are left with no option but to believe angels 'exist' in this universe. I find that annoying. Film highlights are the ark in the middle of a great plain, and James Woods' breakdown in a roadside toilet/makeshift confessional - pure poetry. Ultimately whether you enjoy this film will entirely depend on whether you can accept a film that delivers beauty without meaning, and story without resolution.
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Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
A Rather Twee Disappointment
Northfork sounded interesting, and looks fantastic (there's clearly a few bob behind it) but sadly suffers from a terminal case of 'American Indie-itis', with cute and twee characters, some misplaced comedy, some rather flat performances and a level of forced quirkiness which made me want to break the disc over my knee.
What marks, say, the Coen brothers out in American indie cinema is their ability to present something that had a distinct character and a rich vein of humour, so the offbeat moments chime well with the well drawn characters.
Here, however, the Polish brothers manage only some rather interchangeable men in hats (very indie) and some performances so stylised that the viewer is irritated and bounced out of the film rather than involved. Not recommended, and I'm a fan of the offbeat. -
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