Peter Fonda gives a quietly effective performance as a man struggling to reconnect with his troubled family in this indie drama from 1997.
"Ulee's Gold" is the kind of film that's composed of long takes and longer silences. Fonda is taciturn and even unlikable at times -- ditto his daughter-in-law and grandchildren, who he must care for when his son goes to prison. Fonda revealed a talent in the later half of his career that he hadn't -- "Easy Rider" aside -- let the world see before, and hasn't really let anyone see since, to tell the truth. It was enough to win him a Best Actor Academy Award nomination, but not enough to help him beat Jack Nicholson, in a year when the Academy wanted to send a message to the independents that the major studios were alive and kicking.
Grade: B+
"Ulee's Gold" is the kind of film that's composed of long takes and longer silences. Fonda is taciturn and even unlikable at times -- ditto his daughter-in-law and grandchildren, who he must care for when his son goes to prison. Fonda revealed a talent in the later half of his career that he hadn't -- "Easy Rider" aside -- let the world see before, and hasn't really let anyone see since, to tell the truth. It was enough to win him a Best Actor Academy Award nomination, but not enough to help him beat Jack Nicholson, in a year when the Academy wanted to send a message to the independents that the major studios were alive and kicking.
Grade: B+