Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Ewan McGregor | ... | Swede Levov | |
Jennifer Connelly | ... | Dawn Levov | |
Dakota Fanning | ... | Merry Levov | |
Peter Riegert | ... | Lou Levov | |
Rupert Evans | ... | Jerry Levov | |
Uzo Aduba | ... | Vicky | |
Molly Parker | ... | Sheila Smith | |
Valorie Curry | ... | Rita Cohen | |
Hannah Nordberg | ... | Merry (12 Years Old) | |
Julia Silverman | ... | Sylvia Levov | |
Mark Hildreth | ... | Agent Dolan | |
Samantha Mathis | ... | Penny Hamlin | |
David Strathairn | ... | Nathan Zuckerman | |
Ocean James | ... | Merry (8 Years Old) (as Ocean Nalu James) | |
David Whalen | ... | Bill Orcutt |
Seymour Levov, going by the nickname of 'Swede' in the Jewish community he was born into, was even more of an all-American than Douglas Fairbanks himself. He had just everything an American idol can dream of: not only was the tall muscular young man a high school star athlete but he married a beauty queen named Dawn in the bargain. And as if all this were not enough, Swede later became the successful manager of the glove factory his father had founded, which allowed him to live with his wife in a beautiful house in the New Jersey countryside. Well-mannered, always bright, smiling and positive, conservative but with a liberal edge, what bad could ever happen to him? And yet...this was reckoning without fate and its obnoxious irony, Swede and Dawn's nemesis manifesting itself in the person of Merry, their beloved daughter who in her teens unexpectedly turned into a violent activist. Written by Guy Bellinger
This film tells the story of a middle class family in the a United States of America in the sixties, when there were political turmoil and social unrests. A teenage girl turns radical, leaving behind a trail of destruction and regret.
I often have not liked films that are directed by actors or actresses. Hence, I have not expected "American Pastoral" to be so engaging. The interpersonal dynamics in the film are closing and convincing. I five myself trying to interpret how and why the girl turns out the way she dies. It is also a great plot point that the psychiatrist does know her stuff, and sees what is happening before other people figure it out. The contrasts between the reactions of the father and the mother after the tragedy, and also the contrasts between the speed of the subsequent recovery are astounding. I think this film is an engaging and thought provoking drama. I enjoyed it.