Ulee's Gold (1997) User Reviews

powerful story of family reclamation

[rupie · 8/10 · 10 May 1999]

Surely one of the best human dramas of the last few years, Peter Fonda is great as Ulee Jackson, a deeply wounded but incredibly strong man who by sheer strength of will reaches out to drag back together a shattered family. His performance is a masterpiece of understatement; we can almost physically sense the roiling depths of anger and resentment that lie below his cold, almost imperturbable exterior. The crime subplot never takes precedence over the gripping family drama that is the movie's core. It is wonderful to see the various characters gradually becoming re-integrated into a functioning family; i.e. The daughter's appearing late at night in the work area to help Ulee, whose restrictions up to then she has mightily resented, with his backbreaking work.

Few have commented on the double entendre of the movie's title. Ulee's "Gold" is, on its surface, the honey he works to produce. At the film's conclusion we see that "Gold" might also refer to the long-lost money that is at the crime subplot's core. In actuality, we could have a TRIPLE entendre in that we can see that the real "Gold" might actually refer to the family he has brought together again.

2 greedy men make life uncomfortable for a beekeeper

[helpless_dancer · 8/10 · 4 April 1999]

Excellent tale about a man who gets involved with 2 men intent on getting their hands on a stash of stolen loot from an armored car robbery. Unique story with an actor I haven't seen since he hit middle age. Peter Fonda still has the same soulful eyes he had when I first saw him in "Wild Angels" back in the mid-60's. His acting has improved considerably over the years; I thought his old underground films were somewhat amateurish back then. This was a fine movie which reminded me a little of his western "The Hired Hand" from some 20 years ago. Well worth watching.

Good stuff. Slow, but that's OK.

[smatysia · 7/10 · 17 February 2001]

A pretty good little movie. The pace is a little slow, and often not much seems to be happening. This is not a bad thing here. Hollywood is usually so formulaic that they must not be discouraged when they try something a little different. Everything worked well here, the acting, the photography, the direction. Yes, Peter Fonda turned in a fine performance. I wonder if as much would have been made of this if Fonda hadn't spent most of his career playing in total stinkers, though. The small-time crooks, Fonda must deal with (including his son) are such losers they seem directly imported from an Elmore Leonard novel. Special mention for the child actress Vanessa Zima (Penny Jackson). She performed wonderfully in her role, full of soulful and meaningful looks. Either she is a very good child actress, or the casting director did a great job finding a girl who looks the part.

Peter Fonda Finally Lets His Talent Shine

[tfrizzell · 10 October 2000]

"Ulee's Gold" is a simple little film that is reminiscent of Old Hollywood. Peter Fonda (Oscar-nominated) stars as a bee-keeper in Florida who has lived a somewhat uneventful life. He's raising his two young grand-daughters because their father is in prison and their mother is nowhere to be found. When Fonda learns from his imprisoned son that his daughter-in-law needs his help, he rescues her from a life which has nearly been ruined by drug-use. Fonda brings her back to live with him, but also learns from his son that two thugs may create trouble because of a score they (the son and thugs) pulled off years earlier. Now the thugs want the money and Fonda must show emotional strength at his family's darkest hour. The film is above-average in every aspect, but it is Fonda that makes the film as good as it is. Everyone else is adequate, but this is his show. The screenplay and direction are just good enough to keep the film above water. Overall a good film. 4 stars out of 5.

Intelligent movie

[MarioB · 7/10 · 23 June 1999]

For me, 90 % of the american movies of the 1990's stinks. Ulee's gold is a part of the 10 % left of very good and intelligent movie. The photography is wonderful and the members of Peter Fonda's family are all great (the two bad boys are weak). For me, this is the cultural United States portrayed in a movie. Not all that Titanic or Star Wars stuff, but this kind of movie where people and realistic characters are important. And it's a great come back for mister Fonda.

Quiet Indie Drama with a Good Performance from Peter Fonda

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 16 July 2009]

Peter Fonda gives a quietly effective performance as a man struggling to reconnect with his troubled family in this indie drama from 1997.

"Ulee's Gold" is the kind of film that's composed of long takes and longer silences. Fonda is taciturn and even unlikable at times -- ditto his daughter-in-law and grandchildren, who he must care for when his son goes to prison. Fonda revealed a talent in the later half of his career that he hadn't -- "Easy Rider" aside -- let the world see before, and hasn't really let anyone see since, to tell the truth. It was enough to win him a Best Actor Academy Award nomination, but not enough to help him beat Jack Nicholson, in a year when the Academy wanted to send a message to the independents that the major studios were alive and kicking.

Grade: B+

Slow, but exceptional drama is Fonda's biggest break yet.

[emm · 7/10 · 14 March 1999]

Peter Fonda's outstanding and "golden" performance in his career as a beekeeper, and a very reliable use of storytelling are two super strengths that would make ULEE'S GOLD worth recommending to most. In case the title may fool you as a Western, well, it's not, but it makes perfectly common sense about the troubled life and times in and out of the honey business. There aren't a whole lot of detailed observations to discover, largely due to excessive periods of talk. That might explain why the film should have needed a boost of speed to begin with, and it also needed more interactivity with the wife Fonda brought back home. But let's focus on Peter "EASY RIDER" Fonda for a brief moment. His use of rewarding acting brilliance as a beekeeper would be similar to a true father of the family. I'll have to say this being the greatest mass transition from all things said and done in long-late and lamented biker movies from the past. Bottom line is this: ULEE'S GOLD isn't for those who won't have interest in dramas written like paperback novels, but every now and then, a movie can demonstrate new ideas out of anything that can go far beyond the limits of what was not thought possible. And in this case, Peter Fonda. Don't you wish you hadn't felt the sting?

A Very Special Film

[Tiger_Mark · 10/10 · 23 March 2004]

I just love this film. I like the Faulkner-like story set in the South. I like the subdued, yet brilliant performance by Peter Fonda. I like the detailed shots of the art of beekeeping. The music...I just love this movie. The story centers around Ulee, a stoic beekeeper and honey maker. Ulee's son is doing time in prison for his part in a robbery. His son's wife is a junkie who walked out on her three daughters, leaving Ulee to raise them. Although Ulee is not an emotional man, you sense he loves his grandkids and son, he just has trouble showing it. Well, the mom comes back, his son's partners in crime come back and Ulee realizes that his simple life is in great peril. This is a wonderful family film and I think a performance by Fonda that is very personal. I highly recommend it.

Honey of Wrath

[kenjha · 7/10 · 28 December 2010]

A beekeeper raising his two granddaughters while his son is in jail must deal with his son's old cohorts. This is a well-acted character study, with Fonda having one of his best roles as a widower who wants to live a quiet existence but must take steps to keep his dysfunctional family together. His low-key performance as a man of quiet integrity recalls his father in films like "The Grapes of Wrath." Richardson is fine as a helpful neighbor while Biel makes her film debut as one of the granddaughters. While most of the film is engaging, the plot is weak, failing to deliver a strong ending to satisfactorily wrap up the story.

Peter Hits a Homer

[gbheron · 9/10 · 22 September 1999]

Peter Fonda plays Ulee, a middle-aged beekeeper raising his incarcerated son's two daughters in rural northern Florida. Suddenly two of his son's partners in crime show up, dump the son's wife (who had abandoned the family years before) on their doorstep, and begin menacing around looking for lost loot. Ulee tries to do the right thing, but while "keeping it in the family".

Most directors and screenwriters today would go for tautness and intensity. Not here, though it is not lacking in drama. This is a study in family dynamics as three generations (and neighbors) try to pull it together and address the crises that confronts them.

Rent this movie. It is subtle, well-crafted, and the best work Peter Fonda has done in decades.

A quiet low key family drama. Fonda is exceptional

[juneebuggy · 6/10 · 24 September 2014]

This was an okay movie, very low key, helped but along by Peter Fonda who is just exceptional. He plays Ulee, a reserved Florida bee keeper forced to put his splintered family back together when his incarcerated son asks for a favour.

Solid acting all round with some powerful scenes between Fonda and Patricia Richardson (Home Improvement). It's a low budget movie but that doesn't seem to affect anything. The quiet beekeeping scenes are beautifully done. (I even learned a thing or two about honey there) Also includes a (very) young Jessica Biel as Ulee's granddaughter. 8/23/14

Good movie with a great and simple plot about the problems of life involving a war veteran who returns to beekeeping in a small Florida town while taking care of family.

[Brian-272 · 8/10 · 20 August 2001]

Now I see why this is such a good movie, the plot is simple and people can relate to these same problems that many families experience. I was very thankful to find this video on sale it's worth every gold penny! Ulee's Gold has Peter Fonda as a Florida beekeeper who returns to take care of family while his son is in prison. Problems are many dealing with the mother of his two granddaughters the mother is battling a drug problem, plus dealing with dangerous thugs who are former friends of his son. These problems all turn to gold in the end as you will find during this film that the Fonda character discovers his soul with the strength and courage that helps everyone begin life anew. Great performance from Peter Fonda a golden globe winner. This was the movie debut of Jessica Biel, believe me she is a future babe.

6 on a scale of 10

[len-21 · 6/10 · 2 January 1999]

I cannot imagine how the average of the first 389 voters gave this an 8.0. Are you people nuts???? This was only as good as a 6 because it didn't have any glaring, miserable problems.

However, if you want a movie to put you to sleep, this is it. Within 30 seconds I was commenting to my friend about how slow it was. 112 minutes seemed like an eternity.

Also, the plot was very weak. The acting was very marginal. The production values were nearly nonexistent. No name actors, no special effects, no staging. And, the music and sound were weakly done too!

The more I think about it, the more I think it probably should have been a 5. It certainly won't make my collection of 1200 movies! And, Peter Fonda for an Oscar??? Give me a break!

Most boring movie this year

[RDH-2 · 3/10 · 4 September 1998]

I´ve just seen this movie tonight as a "sneak preview", and I must say that I almost fell asleep. It is a long time ago, that I saw such a boring and contentless movie: no fun, no action, just a sad man caring for his family. Camera and cut are O.K., but the story is much too plain. Only go in, if you want to learn about producing honey.

Fond of Fonda

[paul sloan · 11 December 2000]

This movie is great in a number of ways. For a start, it shows Peter Fonda is a truly accomplished screen actor and not merely Henry's son, Jane's brother or Bridget's dad. It is a pity that he has had so few good roles to play over the years and his acting career has been largely disappointing. However,he totally brings the character of Ulee to life . Ulee is a decent man trying to do the right thing and when you see this film you are behind him all the way, willing him to overcome all the obstacles he encounters.This film, while a mostly straightforward simple tale,lifts the spirits and is a direct result of how positive the script is. Peter Fonda should make more films like this or he soon might find himself looking for the few good 'grandfather' roles out there in the movie world.

Deliberately Paced and Involving.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 7 December 2015]

The honey that "Tupelo Honey" refers to is not somebody wife or main squeeze. It refers to the honey produced by bees that have been mucking around in the blossoms of the Florida tupelo trees, which only are in bloom for a few weeks. This makes for a high-end honey.

The bees kept by Peter Fonda play a weighty symbolic role in this film. They get along, so why can't we? As we all know, bees are divided into classes. First, there is the queen bee. She's fed royal jelly in her блины. Besides the queen bee, or rather beneath her, are the workers, the drones, the soldiers, the Viscounts, the peons, the serfs, the bishops and rooks, and the châtelaines. There are others, many of mixed race, but you don't need to know all of them to enjoy the movie.

I think this role earned Peter Fonda a Golden Globe Award and he deserved it. He's all guardedness and reserve. The death of his wife six years ago has left him emotionally bankrupt. His two grand-daughters don't pay him much attention as he goes about the time-consuming business of schlepping bee hives and barrels around the woodland apiary. His son is in the slams for a robbery. Then, reluctantly, he agrees to his son's desperate plea to Fonda to rescue his daughter-in-law from abject distress in Orlando. When they wouldn't let her into Disneyworld she went spastic and has been strung out and in the hands of two really evil young men ever since.

Fonda reluctantly drives to Orlando to take her home. The two miscreants happily hand over the strung out woman, having had their fill of her, but they inform Fonda that they were his son's accomplices and they have reason to believe the son stashed a hoard of money from the robbery. They want the money or else they'll pay a visit to Fonda's family. The daughter-in-law, Christine Dunford, is in awful shape. Her performance is outstanding. Fonda enlists the help of a neighboring woman, a nurse, Patricia Richardson, to put Dunford to bed, restrain her, and keep her sedated.

Meanwhile, Fonda's demanding work with the tupelo honey is falling behind schedule. At about this point, the story loses some of its sense of abject despair. With the help of Dunford's two daughters and the sensible next-door nurse, things improve. Dunford regains her identity and her daughters gradually warm to her.

It's nicely directed too. Fonda has been fiercely independent since he became a widower. But now, coming home sleepless from work in the field, his back killing him, he leans against the kitchen wall. His daughter-in-law asks if she can fix him something to eat. He replies, "A glass of water would be nice." And the director, Victor Nunez, lets us see Dunford turn on the tap, fill the glass with water, hand it to Fonda, and the camera pauses while he drinks the entire contents.

The business with the two unsavory robbers continues apace. The dominant of the two, Steven Flynn, does a truly good job of being what he is, carrying around with him a dull glow of foreboding. The director hands him an impressive introduction. Fonda visits the pool hall and Flynn has just made a shot. His eyes follow the pool ball and then slowly rise to stare with a phony smile at Fonda. But he's always polite. Fonda is "Mr. Jackson" or "Sir," even when Flynn is holding a revolver to his ear.

It gets more tense as it turns from domestic drama to crime story, which I won't get into except to say that not a shot is fired and no one gets his head wrenched off.

Start it and stick with it for a while.

On The Verge Of More Than The Glades....

[krocheav · 7/10 · 14 May 2016]

This is one of those films that comes as a surprise, hardly heard of yet well reviewed by some serious critics. Seeing the name Johnathan Demme appear on the credits along with Peter Fonda had me suspecting yet another re-run of "Fighting Mad" but insightful director, writer, editor, Victor Nunez plays it more like a character study. Nunez also tends to have an affinity for working within the Florida landscape as several of his features have this exotic setting. Apart from a couple of nasty drug oriented sequences (integral to the story) and some unnecessary language, I was reminded of a couple of the better episodes from Budd Shulberg's low budget TV series from the 60s "The Everglades" (remember that terrific theme song?)

Having been most impressed by Peter Fonda's own production (with the marvelous Warren Oates) "The Hired Hand" in '71 (probably his most mature work to date), I was drawn to giving 'Ulee's' a chance viewing. It has the look of a film that's always about to take a turn for the usual Hollywood gung-ho heroic's but here, the writing's far more laid back and introspective. It slowly weaves its way to a rather well thought out and tad more believable conclusion. Action fans may be disappointed but for those who enjoy a more leisurely pace, free of over done CGI, this could entertain. Acting by the principal characters is uniformly good:- Fonda, with young Jessica Biel and Penny Jackson as grandaughters, do well in bringing to life a disenfranchised family unit doing it tough.

Director of Photography Virgil Morano and Music score composer Charles Engstrom add nicely to the overall atmosphere. A movie like this would have been a real surprise to the film companies in '97 who were all looking for mindless blockbuster action epics to sell to the masses - they simply would not have known what to do with it!. A little picture that's worth a look if you're in the right mood or for those who want to see Peter Fonda nearly 30 years after the more successful but somehow over-rated 'Easy Rider'.

Foot note: The film also gives us a fairly detailed introduction to the art of Bee Keeping and Honey extraction in difficult locations.

a slow-built but absorbing yarn tampered with a tinge of mainstream complacency

[lasttimeisaw · 7/10 · 6 February 2017]

This American indie, indubitably director/writer Victor Nunez's most well-known work, has hitherto earned Peter Fonda his sole acting Oscar nomination. Ulee Jackson (Fonda) is a widowed beekeeper in an unnamed town in Florida, who raises his two granddaughters Casey (Biel in her film debut) and Penny (Zima, a precocious heart-melting angel) all by himself because his son Jimmy (Wood) is serving time in jail and his daughter-in-law Helen (Dunford) is a congenital drug addict who takes flight in another town.

It is difficult for a man like Ulee to raise two young girls, the elder Casey is in her rebellious pubescence and the younger Penny is perceptibly despondent in the humdrum days, only the arrival of a new neighbor Connie Hope (Richardson), a childless, twice-divorced nurse, proffers Penny some excitement, but Ulee remains courteous but distant.

The season of tupelo is coming, which for beekeepers, it is the golden time of the year to produce the indigenous high-caliber tupelo honey, but Ulee's life has been dragged into a flurry of hapless incidents, after taking back an unconscious and drug-addled Helen from Eddie (Flynn) and Ferris (Weber), two wretches and former associates of Jimmy, he is browbeaten by them to find a hidden stash of cash whose where-about only Jimmy knows. Thanks to the professional succor from Connie, the family manage to help Helen go through her withdrawal and a gentle mutual affection burgeons between Ulee and Connie, meanwhile, Casey and Penny both lend a helping hand in the honey business, and finally, facing up the menacing Eddie and Ferris, Ulee must save his family once and for all from the past contraventions.

On the one hand, ULEE'S GOLD is a genuine lover letter to apiculture, Nunez modulates a minute and patient angle to show audience its stock-in-trade, and Fonda is greatly hands-on in every step, often alone in the woods, ploughs on with adroitness and dedication, never belies that he is play- acting; on the other hand, what quietly distills through the happenings, sometimes raucous (Helen's detox process), sometimes dramatic (visiting Jimmy in the prison, is he an ingrate or a prodigal son?), sometimes threatening (the murky suspense in fetching the cash under duress), is a lone wolf who is perspicacious and mettlesome in wrestling with the downside of his life, and a patriarch figure who is given an opportunity to single-handedly re-direct his son's family back to the right orbit, plus a second chance in his love life too. Thus, the resultant outcome is a slow-built but absorbing yarn tampered with a tinge of complacency.

Still, Mr. Fonda's performance is the chief takeaway, a reclusive macho paterfamilias who, nevertheless, conceals a tender heart underneath, is a character too make-believe to be authentic, but we are so caught up in his attempt to clear off all the obstacles and ultimately, as contrived as the story ends, we are not attacked by the usual bathetic aftertaste, which all owes to Fonda's upright, unfeigned and taciturnly riveting presentation of an ordinary hero is bent on doing the right thing.

A triumphal return for Peter Fonda !

[OldRose · 9/10 · 15 January 1999]

The often forgotten member of the Fonda family will hopefully be well remembered for this role and henceforth! This was no big-budget film, not dependent on special effects, torrid sex, or terrorist-style violence, either. Thus the actors had to carry the day, especially Fonda, and he did. Hats off ! -- for a marvellous performance, a triumphal return to the big screen, and for his Golden Globe award ("Best Actor - drama") and Oscar nomination. The less than picture-perfect family in this film applies to many and was a story we could relate to: Believable, tangible, and very well done! (Rating 4.5 stars of 5.)

A Nod to Homer...

[umainer · 8/10 · 25 August 1999]

It's not until the second half of "Ulee's Gold" that we hear Peter Fonda's character's full name, Ulysses. Once spoken you can't help feeling the rush of recognition of Homer's influences in this well-acted drama. There is Ulee's dead wife, Penelope--whom was Odysseus' wife in "The Odyssey". There is Ulee's daughter-in-law Helen--whom was responsible for starting the Trojan War in "The Illiad". Ulee is a veteran of the Vietnam War in much the way that Odysseus was of the Trojan War. He tells his grand daugher Penny he survived because of his "trickery" in much the same way Odysseus did with the Trojan Horse. His endurance of the many things which befall him after being sent to retrieve his Helen remind one of the way Odysseus was treated when he returned to his home as a beggar. Nods to Homer aside, this film was slow at times but worth the rental when taken in its entirety. Peter Fonda and Patricia Richardson both give outstanding performances with Fonda well deserving of the Golden Globe for his portrayal of Ulee. Rent it on your next visit to the video store--it won't disappoint.

Ulee's Gold

[briefcase119 · 10/10 · 21 June 2006]

I agree with the above commentator that Victor Nunez has great talent, but I disagree with the criticism of the writing. I think the dialog is intentionally paced to accurately reflect the oral traditions of rural Floridians in that socio-economic milieu.

I was very disappointed that this film did not win an Oscar. In my opinion, its the best acting Peter Fonda has ever done. As a native Floridian, I also recognize many of the locales in the film, shot on location in the Sunshine State.

If you haven't seen this film, you have missed a treasure. By the way, its up to the viewer to decide whether the title refers to honey or Ulysses' family values.

Melodrama leaves me empty

[KnightsofNi11 · 5/10 · 27 May 2011]

After getting about 30 minutes into Ulee's Gold I said to myself, "Great. Another dysfunctional family movie." There are elements of this film that lead you to believe it will be something much bigger and much more original than the average dysfunctional family film. For instance, the dynamics of this family are set up in an interesting way. Ulee (Peter Fonda) is the grandfather of the two children he cares for. The parents of these children are criminals. Their father is in jail and their mother ran off and lives with two sleazy men she and her husband used to work with. Ulee realizes he has to bring this family back together so the plot of the film is him bringing his daughter in law home, and then facing the repercussions of this act. The story has the foundation for something incredibly enthralling, but I was personally underwhelmed as I felt that nothing much was achieved through this film and it wasn't really engaging in the slightest.

This film lacks any kind of pizazz or real gripping elements. I'm OK with this when the film makes up for it by being either incredibly well made or proves to be a much more clever and complex story. Ulee's Gold is neither of these things. It just kind of leaves you with a sense of lackluster, half entertained dullness. There isn't much to this film, as far as I could tell, and it didn't really grab me emotionally like I felt it tried to do. While it could have really moved me or really intellectually engaged me, it fell short and I see it now as another film that ends up just being there. It's just another film with nothing very special about it to get my attention.

But perhaps I'm being too harsh on the films story just for not living up to my expectations. It is an interesting story and it has its moments that can draw you in, but overall I was underwhelmed. Where this film's major issues stem from is just its overall tone. One of my least favorite things is when a film wants to be dramatic and it just tries too hard to be sincere and depressing. In Ulee's Gold I feel as if every character has just woken up at every moment of the film. They are all so bland and so dull that I just want to yell at them, "Have some enthusiasm! Wake up! Speak up!" The entire film just gives off this unbelievable sense of melodrama with all of the characters acting way too bleak. I understand that they are all in bad situations, and no doubt have a reason to be depressed, but if this monotone attitude could just break for one second I could buy into the drama of this film a little more. But instead the whole film is loaded with unrealistic dialouge that just furthers a one dimensional tone that gets old quickly. There's that split between realistic drama and melodrama. I wouldn't say Ulee's Gold dives head first into the melodrama side, but it certainly leans way too far in that direction for me to consider this emotionally engaging drama.

I really wanted to enjoy Ulee's Gold. It had so much going for it and is one of those films that could have been so much better. But try as I might I could only find this film slow, dull, and monotonous. People have revered Peter Fonda's role as Ulee, but I honestly saw nothing in his performance. It fit with the rest of the dreary acting, complete with blank stare and all. I felt nothing while watching this movie, and that includes entertainment. I figure I will forget this movie within a week. Unfortunate, but true.

Fonda gave the performance of a lifetime!

[lynne/tx · 15 October 1999]

Peter Fonda should have won the Oscar for this film. After he didn't, I boycotted the movies for a full 12 months. Fonda gave the performance of a lifetime in this film about a solitary Florida bee-keeper trying to keep what's left of his family together.

This is not light entertainment. This is realistic film-making at its best.

There is no Hollywood "fix" ending. These are real people with really serious problems trying to make their way through with the least amount of damage.

Forget the Academy....see this film and ask yourself who deserved the Best Actor Oscar....

One of my fave movies set in the South

[bobbobwhite · 8/10 · 2 March 2006]

Peter Fonda as Ulee did his best to recreate his dad Henry in this film, and was nearly as effective as Henry would have been in the same role. Peter does not have Henry's fiery blue eyes that displayed an inner fierceness that belied his outward calm so Peter, with his mother's looks and his very laid back personality, has to work harder(without appearing to do so) to have a similar Fonda impact but he did it so well here and better than I thought he could. This role was a perfect fit for him and he was terrific in it, and he is a credit to the great Fonda name as a result. Ulee's Gold might have been a Oscar instead of the honey he made as a bee-keeper(Peter was nominated but did not win).

As a reclusive and introverted Viet Nam vet with a painful war disability, an extreme family dysfunction, and a declining but backbreaking bee-keeping business that's rapidly facing extinction, Ulee has a lot of hard work and stress interfering with his taxing efforts to just get by from day to day. When thrown into a deadly family crisis caused by his criminal and convict son, he reluctantly gets deeply involved in trying to solve it and almost gets killed for it.

Many viewers may think this film was paced too slow, but most filmmakers trying to portray a rural story set in the South get the pacing all wrong, as city boy filmmakers never understand why Southern folks move slowly and seem to think slowly, thereby appearing stupid and/or lazy, so they try to speed up the story and ruin it by doing so. I was a country boy early on and understand that carefully-paced, oven hot-country behavior very well and was pleased that Ulee's Gold was paced just right, which to me was the critical factor in making this film believable, along with the spot-on acting of the lead characters.

Pat Richardson of Home Improvement was terrific as the helpful tenant/eventual love interest, as her character's basic human goodness, calmness, and sweet motherly nature showed again an example of perfect casting, as that is Pat.

See this good story with lots of tension and realistic Southern pacing, and great acting in the leads. Plus, very interesting visuals of bee-keeping details made this one of my favorite films set in the South.

For other great films set in the South, see The Trip To Bountiful, Places in the Heart, and Sling Blade.

Finely wrought

[paul2001sw-1 · 8/10 · 17 February 2006]

Victor Nunez's film 'Ulee's Gold' is a highly understated thriller centred on a beekeeper troubled by his son's criminal past, whose strengths lie in the absence of violent melodrama. Indeed, if anything, the quiet-spokenness of its characters (even the villains) leaves it open to the charge of romanticising American small-town life; but Ullee's own exceptional reticence is as much a private prison as a sign of strength and decency, and Peter Fonda, in the lead role, brings out both aspects nicely in his performance. Although you'll see more exciting and ambitious movies, the absence of false notes ensure this subtle drama leaves it own mark.