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:

Based loosely on William Shakespeare's "King Lear".

Quotes:

Larry Cook: You can't have children, but you, Rose, your children will laugh when you die.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Steel Guitars

Not all that bad

A Thousand Acres (1997:***) This sober drama lasted about a week in theaters and was dismissed as dreary soap opera by most critics. There are echoes of "King Lear" in the story of a wealthy farmer who decides to divide his estate among his three daughters. But I thought the reviews overestimated the extent to which the story uses the Lear parallels. It's just a catalyst for a strong drama of family conflicts and repressed memories coming to the fore that soon goes its own way. There are some script problems: the youngest daughter's loyalty to her cruel father seems quite inexplicable, and as a lawyer you would think she'd know better than to put a hopelessly senile person on the witness stand. The fine cast does pretty well, especially Jessica Lange and Michelle Pfeiffer, although as usual Jennifer Jason Leigh is barely adequate as the youngest sister. Maybe watching this on a stormy Sunday night helped put me in the mood, but I rather enjoyed this one.