The Scoundrel's Wife (2002)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Glen Pitre

Writers (WGA):

Michelle Benoit (written by) &
Glen Pitre (written by)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

When war comes home, everybody is a suspect.

Plot:

Already an outcast for crimes she did not commit, a woman struggling to raise her two children in a small village during World War II is suspected of being a saboteur. |

Plot Keywords:

WWII | 1940s

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Tatum O'Neal	...	Camille Picou
Julian Sands	...	Doctor Lenz
Tim Curry	...	Father Antoine
Lacey Chabert	...	Florida Picou
Eion Bailey	...	Ensign Jack Burwell
Patrick McCullough	...	Blue Picou
Rudolf Martin	...	Neg Picou
Lorna Farrar	...	Shrimp Shed Owner
John McConnell	...	Dance Hall Owner
Lance Spellerberg	...	Beaten P.W.
Kurt Gerard	...	Snake-bit P.W.
Michael Arata	...	Coast Guard Commander
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David P. Kufner	...	German Soldier

Also Known As:

Homefront (USA) (DVD box title)
The Home Front (USA) (video title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brief sexuality and some violent images.

Runtime:

Brazil:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Advantage Partners Pictures

Aloof war-time drama

Despite Glen Pitre's reputation with the critics, he shows no distinguishing talent with story, narrative or actors with this war-and-the-homefront melodrama. The men are mostly overwrought, young Lacey Chabert is totally out of the period, and Tatum O'Neal (in the lead as a widowed mother of two under a constant cloud of suspicion) is too low-keyed and looks wrung out; she doesn't connect with the audience in a sympathetic way because she's kept so distant and dry of emotions (except in the brief scene where she laughs at Julian Sands dancing--it's like a breath of fresh air to see her genuinely smiling). Film is patchy, with a low-budget feel that isn't helped by mediocre period affects. It begins with a haunting shot, a flashback that becomes clearer as the film progresses (featuring O'Neal's strongest moments), but the rest of the movie fails to rise to that emotional level. It's so passive and dish-rag limp. One may commend hammy Tim Curry as an alcoholic priest--he does liven things up--but his comic mugging doesn't belong in a movie about U-boats and power-crazed soldiers. ** from ****