Cleydael I happened upon this film quite by accident, while channel surfing for something to watch to fill in the time while waiting for it to be Christmas at midnight.What a pleasant surprise! Unlike most people, I'm not a big John Grisham reader, and had never heard of the book on which it's based, but having seen the film and read viewer reviews, I'm now eager to read the book. The one thing I didn't like about the film is that it ends too abruptly, with too many loose ends in the plot - particularly whether Ricky returns from the Korean War alive or not. There was such a sense of it being incomplete that I went to IMDb to check whether it was a two-part film or a mini-series and if so, where could I watch the rest of the story! What I really liked about "A Painted House" is that it really got across a strong sense of time and place for the cotton belt in the early 1950's. It conveyed the fact that these were simpler and in some ways more "wholesome" times, but unlike most Hallmark Channel fare, not in a saccharine way. Instead, it dealt with a lot of gritty, real-life issues like murder, unwed motherhood, ethnic and class tensions, and the moral compromises sometimes inherent in the small town mentality, but not in an overblown, sensationalist way, which I think was a particularly important balance to be struck for an autobiographical coming of age film told from the perspective of a 10 year old boy.Overall, the acting was very good, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Robert Sean Leonard from "House" as the young Grisham's father. By far the most memorable performance was Scott Glenn's portrayal of the grandfather, but Melinda Dillon (who turns out to be from Arkansas) was also excellent as the grandmother as was young Logan Lerman in the lead role and Pablo Schreiber as Hank, the bad boy of the Spruill "hill people" family of migrant workers.As someone who frequently works as either a production designer, costume designer or in some crew capacity involving art department / wardrobe / historical authenticity and general "look and feel" of an era, I've got to give major accolades to the production design team on this one and to other departments involved in the broad area of "look and feel" The locations were superb, the set dressing and costuming authentically styled and realistic aged / distressed, so that everybody looked like actual rural poor people. Too many shows overdo the dirt and it looks fake and ends up being condescending. On this film, clothes were shown to be sun-faded, worn and stained but with people making a respectable attempt to keep clean despite their limited means. When the cousin from up north came to visit with his Yankee / city slicker wife, the contrast was very effective.There were lots of wonderful 1950s props but these were presented in a realistic way, as an accretion of things from various earlier eras leading up to the early 50's. (Fabulous job on picture cars, particularly considering how many had to be acquired.) As a result, there was a real, palpable sense of time and place, which really "made" the film for me. The single exception in this area is that some of the men should have either had shorter hair or been Brylcreme'd to look right for 1952. "A little dab'll do ya" would have done wonders.Another pleasant surprise was going to IMDb to read the credits and finding out that the 1st and 2nd AD were people I actually know and have worked with before on other period-piece type projects. No wonder the details on this film were so good -- Donald Eaton and Lynne Wegenka know their stuff and make the trains run on time.Overall, I really enjoyed this film, even thought I felt that it left the audience hanging at the end, and am inspired to get a copy of the book and read it, in hopes that it will flesh out some of the missing parts of the story.

Katz5 I read John Grisham's novel over the summer and have to say that this movie is just too watered down. The book was grittier and should have been made into a theatrical movie, instead of becoming "Hallmarkized." With the music, the stiff acting and the script, I felt like I was watching The Waltons or a certain Michael Landon/Melissa Gilbert '70s show. Nothing wrong with a family movie, but the book had more of an edge and I think was closer to Grisham's real life experiences than this watered down version. Examples (SPOILERS ALERT): 1. Hank's sudden source of income. In the book he earned it gambling and spent a lot of time at the carnival. In fact, the entire carnival/wrestler segment, which stood out in the book, is missing from the movie. 2. The conflict between Hank and Cowboy seemed staged and silly. Cowboy didn't have a "West Side Story"-like switchblade in the book, either. It was a large buck knife, as I remember. 3. Tally was barefoot, indicating the poverty level of the Spurills. She was not wearing Keds. 4. The segments in the book between Tally and Cowboy were a little more intimate than just embracing in the fields. 5. The Latcher subplot was just an aside. In the book, it is a lot more significant.You get the point--this should have been a hard, PG-13 movie instead of a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation (which will probably get a PG on video as there is a little violence, albeit very muted). In fact the only reason I watched this was because of Scott Glenn, who was perfect as Pappy. Maybe they'll try it again, for the theater!

aileen_588 Overall, it was an ok made for t.v movie. The acting was good, and there was nothing particularly wrong with the cinematography. The only problem was the story line. It goes from here to there with nothing to tie it together in between. The movie also comes with a rather un-satisfying ending. But if you are at home one night with nothing else to do it is an enjoyable-enough two hours.

vchimpanzee In Arkansas during the Korean War, 10-year-old Luke Chandler lives with his parents and grandparents on a farm where cotton is the primary crop. To pick the cotton, the family must hire 'hill people' and Mexicans. The hill people do not get along particularly well with those who look down on them, and sometimes they get into fights. Hank Spruill is especially prone to getting in trouble. One day in the house, he makes demands of Luke and, figuring Luke looks down on him, points out that at least his house is painted, while to Luke's family, paint is a luxury. Later in the movie, part of the house has been mysteriously painted. The prime suspect is Hank's disabled brother Trot, who can't work in the fields.Luke witnesses a fight Hank gets into that results in a death. He is afraid to tell the truth since Hank doesn't like him anyway, but the police officer who investigates appears satisfied with the explanation of self-defense. Hank's teenage sister appears to be falling for Luke at first, but later she is seen with Cowboy, one of the Mexicans, and Hank already despises Cowboy.The hard life on the farm is made even worse by several weather events during the second half of the movie. The promise of better times ahead is suggested when Luke's cousin shows up in a brand new Buick (Luke has never even been in a car, only trucks). His spoiled rich wife can't believe people have to live like this and is horrified by having to use an outhouse (This was one of my favorite scenes; Kiersten Warren is so good in roles like this). Also, the whole town is excited by a new thing called television and the idea of actually being able to watch the World Series. Luke is a Cardinals fan, but he gives up his dream of a Cardinals jacket for something more important.This is almost a family movie. There are two violent scenes that result in deaths (both witnessed by Luke; the second time, the person responsible threatens Luke's mother if he tells). People get into fights a lot in this environment, but the others are no big deal. Other possible red flags for parents: the birth of a child to an unwed mother, and the identification of a possible father. Other than these incidents, this movie could be acceptable viewing for the entire family.This movie was well done, and I thought the performances by many of the actors were good. I especially liked Luke's grandfather, who could be stern but tender. Not everyone has an easy life, and those of us who had it too soft can learn a lot from a movie such as this.