ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

URBAN PREJUDICES lock horns with deep-rooted rural values in ‘Junebug’, a slight but perceptive first feature film from director Phil Morrison.

A prodigal son’s homecoming is played for gentle comedy and quiet despair in a wry, deadpan screenplay by Angus MacLachlan that allows the performers to get their teeth into some juicy, well-rounded roles.

Embeth Davidtz’s Chicago art dealer Madeleine is the one venturing far from her comfort zone as she arrives in North Carolina. She is attempting to woo an eccentric local painter who specialises in highly personal and very primitive images of the American Civil War.

It is also a chance to make a first visit to the parents of her husband George (Alessandro Nivola), who has not been home in three years.

The welcome is polite but frosty. His father Eugene (Scott Wilson) takes taciturnity to new lengths. His mother Peg (Celia Weston) has a smile on her lips and suspicion in her eyes. His younger brother Johnny (Ben McKenzie) seems to be in a permanent sulk.

The only one brimming with joy at their arrival is Johnny’s heavily pregnant wife Ashley, played by Amy Adams in a giddy, Oscar-nominated performance that is easily the highlight of the film.

The resentments, distrust and misunderstandings that inform this family gathering are revealed in a manner that is both truthful and filled with dry humour.

They all probably have more in common than they might care to admit if only they were willing to make the first move towards finding common ground. The emotional issues lying beneath the comic surface ensure that ‘Junebug’ is a more wistful, substantial film that it initially appears.

Selected nationwide release
Director: Phil Morrison
Stars: Amy Adams, Embeth Davidtz, Ben McKenzie, Alessandro Nivola, Celia Weston
Screenplay: Angus MacLachlan
Certificate: 15
Running time: 107 mins
Country: USA
Year: 2004

© Allan Hunter, 2006