Ulee's Gold

Starring: Peter Fonda, Patricia Richardson, Christine Dunford, Tom Wood, Jessica Biel, Vanessa Zima, Steven Flynn, Dewey Weber, J. Kenneth Campbell
Directed by: Victor Nunez
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
1997

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A beekeeper (Peter Fonda) tries desperately to hold his family together despite a son (Tom Wood) in prison and a daughter-in-law (Christine Dunford) addicted to drugs.

Review:

Tim: Ulee's Gold is a good movie, but never anything more than that. The movie moves at a glacial pace. I'm sure that was intentional- Peter Fonda's performance is reserved, stoic, and slow as well. It's almost strange, though, to consider the pacing of this film. I can't remember the last time I saw a movie that was nearly two hours long that moved this slow. There's pros and cons to this approach. The movie is methodical in its storytelling and it allows room for the characters to breathe. However, the movie isn't always enjoyable and it feels like this slow burn takes an exceedingly long time to get anywhere. I liked Ulee's Gold, but it's hard not to feel like Victor Nunez's film was just stubbornly plodding ahead when it needed to move a bit quicker, inject a bit more life into its proceedings.

At its heart, the story is about a father trying to hold his family together. He's raising his two granddaughters as best he can. His son is in prison. His daughter is a drug addict. He's also a beekeeper, which takes some amount of focus and effort for him to make a living. It's a lot for anyone to handle and the movie is just Ulee doing the best he can. None of this is especially original, but it was interesting to see how the film blended together these very different elements. There's several truly effective scenes of someone high and then coming down brutally after a long drug addiction. Those scenes are well shot and among the most memorable of the film. There's also a subplot involving crime and some dangerous criminals. The movie is also about beekeeping, which is certainly an unexpected add. There's a lot of family drama as well. Nunez does a good job of weaving these different elements together into a fairly compelling narrative.

As far as the cast, you have to start with the film's lead. Peter Fonda is really good in the lead role. His Ulee is fascinating because it's hard to quantify his character. He is certainly quiet and introspective. He also has this strength and discipline to his character as well. You can tell his character has been through quite a lot, has suffered and persevered. You find yourself interested in his character and rooting for him in the film. I don't think I ever loved Ulee, but I was interested in him. Fonda received the film's only Academy Award nomination, for Best Actor. I don't think he was good enough to win it, but it was nice he was nominated.

The supporting cast is solid, but a bit uneven. It was fun seeing Patricia Richardson here. I know her from Home Improvement, but I hadn't seen very many of her films. She was good here, but definitely feels like a television actress. I really liked seeing Jessica Biel's film debut. This is only her second time acting, the first being a short film. She's raw but solid in this role. You can definitely see how she'd have a successful career. Christine Dunford was okay. Tom Wood had a few decent moments. Vanessa Zima did some decent things as the youngest member of the Jackson family. I enjoyed J. Kenneth Campbell's performance. As a whole, the cast had some good members, but it also felt like some lower-level actors had big roles.

Ulee's Gold is a good movie and it told an interesting story. I liked it, but I never loved it. It's the kind of film I feel glad to have seen, but can't think of a single reason why I would ever want to revisit it. It's good, but never great. Interesting, but never intriguing. It's a solid film, but one that is ultimately too forgettable.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



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