The Neon Bible (1995)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Terence Davies

Writers:

Terence Davies (writer)
John Kennedy Toole (novel)

Release Date:

1 March 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

While on a train, a teenage boy thinks about his life and the flamboyant aunt whose friendship acted as an emotional shield from his troubled family...

Plot Keywords:

Teenage Boy | 1940s | Georgia USA | Teenager | Family Relationships

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Jacob Tierney	...	David, aged 15
Drake Bell	...	David, aged 10
Gena Rowlands	...	Mae Morgan
Diana Scarwid	...	Sarah
Denis Leary	...	Frank
Bob Hannah	...	George
Aaron Frisch	...	Bruce
Charles Franzen	...	Tannoy Voice
Leo Burmester	...	Bobbie Lee Taylor
Sherry Velvet	...	First Testifier
Stephanie Astalos-Jones	...	Second Testifier
Ian Shearer	...	Billy Sunday Thompson
Joan Glover	...	Flora
Jill Jane Clements	...	Woman
Tom Turbiville	...	Clyde

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

Academy

Trivia:

In an interview with Time Out Film Terence Davies said "The Neon Bible' doesn't work, and that's entirely my fault. The only thing I can say is that it's a transition work. And I couldn't have done 'The House of Mirth' without it."

Quotes:

David: If you were different from anybody else in town, you had to get out. They used to say in school, "you have to think for yourself," but you couldn't do that in town. You have to think what your father thought and that was what everybody thought.

Movie Connections:

References Mildred Pierce (1945)

Soundtrack:

Selznick Trademark

How not to make a film...

Have no idea what this film was made for. Uninteresting plot, pace at most times extremely slow, scary images (this boy with still face - as if made of wax - staring at the moon...), pathetic visual effects.

Watched that film in the cinema with 30 other viewers. Half of them left within the first quarter of an hour, the rest decided to give a film a try. After a while irritation turned into disbelief (this film is a joke) and later into amusement (yes, it is a joke!). Thus in the middle of the film I couldn't help it any more and started laughing aloud (watching the scene of murder with storm, lightning and bushes beating furiously in the window) and went on till the END sign. The rest of crowd joined me with relief.

Film highly recommended for use in laughter therapy.