A Classic and Possibly for the Holidays, Too!Teaser: An unsung classic of a film, deep, heartwarming, and brilliantly acted. Set between Thanksgiving and New Year in snowy upstate NY, the film could be a part of your holiday film library.
Plot: Paul Newman is Donald Sullivan, a 60-year-old odd-job man in a small, hardscrabble town. His tangled web of relationships with sometime employer Bruce Willis, landlady Jessica Tandy, and a host of colorful locals slowly emerges and it turns out that na'er-do-well Sully actually is a vital component of his community.
Acting: Just superb. Newman is at his best and in her final role, Tandy is brilliant. Willis, Melanie Griffith and Pruitt Taylor Vince is full of pathos as best friend Rub Squeers. The supporting cast is also scintillating. Of special note is an early role for Capote star Philip Seymour Hoffman, as local police bumpkin Werner.
Best Feature: The script-- the Newman-Tandy repartee is great and the Newman-Willis dialogue just crackles...
One of the best films you probably haven't seen.This is a gem of a movie that never created much of a stir when released. We are accustomed to perfect work from the likes of Paul Newman and Jessica Tandy and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, but director gets pitch-perfect performances from Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith (who was never better).
Nobody's Fool might not be a great film, but I'd argue that it is a perfect film. A film of character, not action, it opens up with quiet assurance and never puts a foot wrong. The writing is exceptionally intelligent, and you could watch it several times just to enjoy the witty banter between small town friends (including friendly enemies, played by Newman and Willis). But ultimately, there is a very serious point to this unpretentious movie. The big climax is nothing much in a way: Newman decides against running off to Hawaii with Melanie Griffith, but that act is an act of heroism and triumph over himself. He comes to realize, after a life of living just for himself, that he has ties of love...
Definitive Newman....Delightful Miss Tandy....Delicious Film
This review refers to the Paramount DVD edition of "Nobody's Fool".....
The irresistable Paul Newman, in a role that was tailor made for him and the always wonderful Jessica Tandy(in her final feature film performance) will steal your heart(as if they haven't already)in the life affirming dramadey, "Nobody's Fool". The rest of the cast are no slouches either. It includes Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith,Josef Summer, Phillip Seymour Hoffman,Dylan Walsh and a performance by youngster Alexander Goodwin that will have you in awe of his extraordinary talent.
Wintry upstate New York is the setting for the story. "Sully"(Newman) is an aging down on his luck, jack of all trades(master of none),regular guy. He just can't seem to get a leg up... figuratively and literally(arthritis is getting the best of him).His life seems to be in a shambles. Abandoning his wife and son years earlier, still trying to eek out a living for himself,constantly seeming to have...
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