A Thousand Acres (1997)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Jocelyn Moorhouse

Writers (WGA):

Jane Smiley (novel)
Laura Jones (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 September 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Best friends. Bitter rivals. Sisters.

Plot:

"King Lear" set on a farm in Iowa.

Plot Keywords:

Farm | Iowa | Disinheritance | Church | Drunk Driving

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win

Cast

Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Rose Cook Lewis
Jessica Lange	...	Ginny Cook Smith
Jason Robards	...	Larry Cook
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Caroline Cook
Colin Firth	...	Jess Clark
Keith Carradine	...	Ty Smith
Kevin Anderson	...	Peter Lewis
Pat Hingle	...	Harold Clark
John Carroll Lynch	...	Ken LaSalle
Anne Pitoniak	...	Mary Livingstone
Vyto Ruginis	...	Charles Carter
Michelle Williams	...	Pammy
Elisabeth Moss	...	Linda
Ray Toler	...	Marv Carson
Kenneth Tigar	...	Doctor

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong sexual language.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Denmark:7 | USA:R (certificate #35105) | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:R(A) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Illinois, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

According to an article in Premiere Magazine 1997, all extras in the film had to sign an agreement promising not to attempt to approach/speak to actresses Michelle Pfeiffer or Jessica Lange.

Quotes:

Rose: We're not going to be sad. We're going to be angry till we die.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 55th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1998) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Steel Guitars

Competent screen adaptation of an excellent novel

I liked this movie a lot, but the feeling that I most came away with was the memory of how much I´d enjoyed the novel. The film features two of the best actresses working today--Jessica Lange, who is great here, and the divine Jennifer Jason Leigh, who does the best she can with the thinly-drawn character she is given--as well as a surprisingly excellent Michelle Pfeiffer and a steady Jason Robards. The adaptation is basically faithful to the book, at least as faithful as it can be in an hour and forty minutes. The film doesn´t really dazzle, except for certain scenes between Lange and Pfeiffer, but it does a thoroughly competent job of visualizing this wonderfully tragic story. As far as movies adapted from novels go, this was definitely among the better ones. If nothing else, it has sent me back to my bookshelves to rediscover favorite passages from Jane Smiley´s excellent novel, and back to King Lear to brush up on the minor characters in order to see just how deep the parallels go. Worth your time as a film, definitely, and hopefully enough to make you remember that reading great literature is a joy as well.