Movie Reviews - U
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| Peter Fonda Patricia Richardson Jessica Biel Christine Dunford Vanessa Zima Tom Wood J. Kenneth Campbell Steven Flynn Dewey Weber Directed,
Produced, and Screenwritten by Co-produced by Executive Producer Cinematographer |
It's hard to know
whether "Ulee's Gold" refers to the honey
widower Ulee Jackson (Peter Fonda) painstakingly coaxes
from his bees in rural Florida or whether the term
represents the way he feels about his family, his son who
is serving time in the pen for robbery and the two
granddaughters Ulee provides a home for. It could also
stand for the values he holds dear. A Vietnam veteran who has experienced things he never wants to talk about, he is a thoughtful, quiet man who takes his responsibilities seriously. As he is experiencing his busiest time preparing his honey for market, his son, Jimmy (Tom Wood) calls Ulee from prison with the news that Helen, the girls' mother (Christine Dunford) - who abandoned the family years before - is seriously ill and staying with two men who were in on the robbery that got Jimmy incarcerated. He begs Ulee to go and get Helen and take her home. Ulee is against it but agrees, and finds Helen in a chemical coma in the filthy Miami apartment of Eddie Flowers (Steven Flynn) and Ferris Dooley (Dewey Weber). Ulee's disgust for the two men is plain, although he never raises his voice. Eddie and Ferris quickly reveal that there is a price for Helen; apparently she has divulged to them that Jimmy hid $100,000 from the heist. They tell Ulee that if the money is not delivered to them by the following week they will come and get it. |
| When Ulee arrives home
after the long drive back from Miami, Helen starts to
wake up and goes into a violent frenzy; neighbor Connie
Hope (Patricia Richardson), a nurse at the local
hospital, is summoned by the girls. Connie identifies the
problem and takes the situation in hand, restraining
Helen firmly while speaking to her gently. Ulee is forced
by circumstance into realizing that he can't do
everything himself, and over the next few days he finds
himself accepting Connie's help as Helen goes through
detoxification and is gradually weaned off of sedatives.
Ulee brings his honey in as Helen begins to recover and
gets to know her daughters once again; she is grateful to
Ulee for rescuing her and he, in turn, begins to forgive.
Ulee finds himself in a difficult situation when Eddie
and Ferris arrive ahead of schedule for the payoff. Peter Fonda does an outstanding acting job in this thoughtful film. Some people are just late bloomers, and Peter was worth waiting for. Hope he is offered other vehicles as worthy of his talent as this piece, which was screenwritten, directed, and produced by Victor Nuņez. A poignant picture about character, forgiveness and redemption, Ulee's Gold rates up at the top of my list of summer films. |
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