A
film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net.
Nobody's Fool is about as sublime
a motion picture as is likely to come out of Hollywood. With a structure that
contravenes the norm, this film concentrates on character first, letting the
plot fall naturally into place. Situations are forced on neither the film's
inhabitants nor on those in the audience. It's rare to sit through a drama and
not feel manipulated, but the feelings generated by Robert Benton's movie are entirely natural, and likely to bring a smile
to the heart.
Paul Newman gives an
unforgettable performance as Donald Sullivan (or Sully, as most people know
him), a cantankerous aging man living in the small, snowbound town of North
Bath, New York. With the spirit of a mischievous teenager but the body of a
sixty year old, Sully has the kind of infectious presence that, in his own
words, grows on you. He delights in
flirting with women half his age, and engages in a game of theft where he and
his sometimes-boss Carl Roebuck (Bruce
Willis) take turns devising creative means by which to steal a snow blower
from one another.
Nobody's Fool is as much about
regrets as about choices made; as much about the road not taken as the one
traveled. It's about families broken apart, and parent/child relationships
mended. Sully's father was a ruthless, violent drunk whom he never forgave, and
that is perhaps why he was such a poor father to his own son, Peter (Dylan Walsh). When the boy was just one
year old, Sully walked out on him and his mother. Now, decades later, the
abandoning father is trying to make amends -- not only to his son, but to his grandson as well.
For
those seeking a film with a remarkable central character, Nobody's Fool is not to be missed. Not only does it offer the best
in easygoing, non-confrontational drama, but the story is told with a sense of
wry, intelligent humor. In fact, the movie is so perfectly attuned to its
audience that it can display Melanie
Griffith's breasts without the moment's self-consciousness that so often
accompanies nudity in American motion pictures.
Speaking
of Griffith, this is the best acting she has done in a long time. After a
string of lackluster comedies and ineffective thrillers, Nobody's Fool offers a role for which she is suited. Playing the
dowdy wife of a perpetual womanizer, she finds the right mixture of strength
and pathos.
Also
holding his own is Bruce Willis, here in his second consecutive solid
performance (on the heels of Pulp Fiction).
Jessica Tandy, to whom the film is
dedicated, is as effective as ever. Of course, no one can quite match Newman,
who shows a chameleon-like ability to shed his star image and don a most
atypical personality. This is the sort of part normally associated with a
character actor of Albert Finney's status.
Quiet
and enchanting in its simplicity, Nobody's
Fool is a joy. Admittedly, it meanders a bit, but that's part of its charm.
The intelligent sensitivity of the script, coupled with Newman's powerfully
understated performance, make this motion picture special. There aren't many of
them like this out there. [Berardinelli’s rating: ***½ out of 4 stars]
Labels: christmas, comedy, drama
