Provinces of Night (2010) Reviews

• Bittersweet, very moving family drama

  Jbtullisorder2011-07-08

  This story takes place in a beautiful country setting somewhere in Tennessee. It revolves around a young man whose family was splintered apart by his grandfather's (Kris Kristofferson) departure long before he was born. Grandpa Bloodworth left behind boys that grew up carrying the pain of their father's departure, and we watch how it all manifest upon his return. This is an excellent piece of storytelling using a rural setting to tell a story from a part of America that the movie explores without any condemning bias about the South or Southerners. This movie simply tells a story from a corner of America that anyone can relate to if you pay attention to what's being said. Some say it moved along slowly, but I thought the pace completely appropriate with the story being told. The movie keeps you glued wanting to know the "why's and what's" of upcoming events, while the ending will certainly pull your heartstrings. Outstanding acting by great performers, a great story, and definitely worth a watch.

• Brilliant

  nightingaleron2011-06-18

  Whether or not you are a country fan-or not,this movie is outstanding with great acting and performances from the whole cast. We had to watch it twice to pick up a few hard to catch details, but overall,-Kristofferson, Kilmer ,Duff and Dwight yoakam did justice to this film. Very Dramatic and the story is very well put together. Some nice country music and also some very nice scenes. It tells the story of the 3 sons who all live different lives. Hillary Duff is exceptional in her part. val Kilmer also very good.It is a movie that perhaps needs to be watched twice if you do not grasp the beginning. I highly recommend this movie as a must to watch. Kris kristofferson is a great actor here and deserves all for his efforts. Also loved the songs in the end credits. A great family treat. Sit back and enjoy it like i did.

• Going home

  jotix1002011-10-31

  E.F. Bloodworth, a country singer now in his old age, wants to go to the place where he was born and which he left hoping for a fame that obviously never came. In fact, the old man is coming home to die, but what he finds as he gets there is nothing but hatred from the family he left behind. Only his grandchild Fleming appears he is the only one welcoming his return. E.F. had three sons, Warren, Boyd, who is Fleming's father, and Brady, the only one that stayed to work the place and his mother Julia. Fleming is an ambitious young man who knows he must leave the rural area where the land is located if he is to make something out of himself. Encouraged by a local teacher, he secretly years to break out of the environment. Warren, a man that loves his women and booze, introduces his nephew to the pleasures of the flesh. One day Warren takes Fleming to a house where a prostitute Louise Halfacre lives with her daughter, the beautiful Raven. It is clear Fleming sees in the girl a kindred soul. She in turn, introduces the young man in the pleasures of sex, but little does he suspect she has been quite busy with the uncle. "Bloodworth" based on a novel by William Gay, which we have not read, kept reminding us of a much better film, "Winter's Bone" in which a much backward family is at its center. Not being able to compare the narrative with the written text, one can see how W. Earl Brown's attraction in adapting it to the cinema. As directed by Shane Dax Taylor, the movie is worth a view by serious viewers. The first half of the film is excellent, making us want it to have kept the good intentions of Mr. Brown until the end. Kris Kristofferson is a busy actor who makes justice of his character. E.F. is not seen much in the film, but in his scenes, the actor makes us understand why he has been so good in his career in front of the camera. A surprising performance by Reece Thompson as Fleming, shows an interesting new face in the movies. We were quite surprised by Hillary Duff's Raven. This actress has wasted too much of her career playing light characters and she clearly made an impression in a more dramatic role. Val Kilmer does not have much to do, and neither does Dwight YoaKam for that matter. The adapter W. Earl Brown has some good moments in the film. Frances Conroy is seen as the mother.

• Misleading

  bob-rutzel-12011-07-04

  E.F. Bloodworth (Kristofferson) comes back to his old home in Tennessee after 40-years on the road. He left to pursue a musical career and virtually abandoned his young family. All are up in arms about his return. This is misleading because you think the story is all about E.F. Well, it's not. It's really about his nephew Fleming (Thompson) who wants to leave the homestead too, but is trying to do it the right way, and not the way E.F. did, but to be fair, Fleming is not that conscious about it all. He just wants to do the right thing. He just wants out from a very dysfunctional family who stayed. E.F. is the background, Fleming is the real story and his story should have been developed more. Wasted in here is Val Kilmer. Kilmer needs to find a vehicle to shine once more, but he seems content with small roles that go nowhere. Hillary Duff is a breath of fresh air, but it is Brady (Brown) who ignites (sorry for the pun, which you will understand if you see this movie) the story. His character's delivery is different, unique and solid. To be honest we don't really get to know any of the characters. We get bits and pieces and we are left to read into things. And, because of that, we don't really care one way or the other what happens to any of them, including Fleming. We don't feel anyone's pain. And, being honest again, the story should not have shown E.F. as coming back. Just saying he came back would have been good enough as the family and others bad mouthed him anyway. We would have gotten the point. Why do I say that? Because we expected more from the Kristofferson (E.F.) character and didn't get it. Like I said, this was misleading. Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes.

• I wanted to like it so much more than I did...

  analogcassettes2011-06-28

  As a long time fan of Kris Kristofferson I was eager to see what he had to offer to the screen, not having seen any of the other films he has acted in. I sort of scoffed when I saw Hilary Duff in the opening credits, but decided it had been a long time since her dumb kid movie days and that I should give her a fair chance. Opening scenes are nice, seem to be establishing a good amount of visually pleasing imagery, the characters seem really interesting. I was intrigued. I did remain intrigued for much of the movie, but once it hit the two thirds mark I really felt like something was missing. I was having a hard time putting my finger on it, but really once I got to the end of the movie it felt like there was so much that was unsaid, unexplained and un-followed through with. The story seemed to addle on and continue moving, but nothing really follows through with Dwight Yoakum's character Boyd. The eventual reunion of E.F. Bloodworth and his ex wife Julia just really falls short. I enjoyed Kristofferson on screen, but it just seems that the story went too many places at once (Not to mention the horrible dream sequences! I felt like I was watching a TV re-enactment!) and didn't carry enough weight in any of them to tie them together very well. Val Kilmer's character is interesting and pretty well played and his part of the story plays out in it's entirety, it seems. Pretty great scene in the end between Fleming and Warren. But Hilary Duff did not really redeem herself, in my eyes. Some OK acting, but still, less than what I was expecting from such a good-looking movie. It was sort of like watching a movie based on a book that you really like and just noticing how much had fallen through the cracks. Except I didn't quite know what was being lost. Maybe it was a book first and I should read that instead. All in all: enjoyable, worth watching but don't get your hopes up too high. This is no Crazy Heart.