Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Anjelica Huston

Writers (WGA):

Dorothy Allison (book)
Anne Meredith (teleplay)

Release Date:

15 December 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Difficult tale of poor, struggling South Carolinian mother & daughter, who each face painful choices with their resolve and pride...

Plot Keywords:

Child Drinking Alcohol | Cigarette Smoking | Funeral | Waitress | Hospital

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Anney Boatwright
Ron Eldard	...	Glen Waddell
Glenne Headly	...	Aunt Ruth
Lyle Lovett	...	Wade
Jena Malone	...	Ruth Anne 'Bone' Boatwright
Dermot Mulroney	...	Lyle Parsons
Christina Ricci	...	Dee Dee
Michael Rooker	...	Uncle Earle
Diana Scarwid	...	Aunt Raylene
Susan Traylor	...	Alma
Grace Zabriskie	...	Granny
Richard Todd Sullivan	...	Travis
Pat Hingle	...	Mr. Waddell
Lindley Mayer	...	Reese
Jamison Stewart	...	Grey

MPAA:

Rated R for strong depiction of sexual and violent abuse, including a rape scene involving a young girl.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Canada:(Banned) (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating on appeal) | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:R-15 | Mexico:C | Netherlands:Unrated | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Whiteville, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Showtime Networks

Goofs:

Anachronisms: (00:12:57) Dermot Mulroney's character (Lyle Parsons) is driving along a road past a modern looking house with a very modern looking red truck parked in the driveway.

Quotes:

Reese: You made him mad, Bone. You better be careful.

Soundtrack:

Searching For Someone Like You

Messy Southern Gothic with too many characters and a lumpy narrative...

Anjelica Huston, an unequivocally wise and intuitive actress, takes on a dark, rambling Southern tale for her first directorial effort, an adaptation of Dorothy Allison's book with so many peaks and valleys it plays like a chopped up TV mini-series, the CliffsNotes version. Story centers on an illegitimate young girl (Jena Malone) in the South during the 1950s and her woebegone waitress-mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who has had terrible luck with men. Seems her third husband (Ron Eldard) has a violent streak when provoked, and when he begins lashing out at the child in both violent and sexual ways, relatives step in to help her. Rare to find a cast so full of solid acting talent, yet this script takes great pains to introduce characters without giving them anything to do (some of the relatives, like the uptown cousin played by Christina Ricci or Dermot Mulroney's doomed Husband #2, appear and disappear in record time). The central performances are fine, with pre-teen Malone doing some very nice work; a child actress with a solemn reserve and faraway eyes, Malone is perhaps too studied in her approach (she isn't an untrained natural), yet Huston handles her gently and some of the strongest moments are the ones where Malone is allowed to take a breath and emote. However, this film, a failed theatrical effort which was sold instead to cable television, is packed (or padded, as it were) with short-hand tragedy, and the editing is so poor and the narrative so confusing you might need a scorecard to keep up with all the melodrama. Despite her sensitivity in staging some shattering scenes, Huston doesn't allow the picture to flow, to absorb the audience. It's jagged and piqued, and one recoils from it instead of being drawn into the plot. ** from ****