Message 632

I read some more of The Economist yesterday, but I still have not finished it. Last night I watched a DVD of the movie The Whole Wide World. It was made in 1996 , and I had never heard of it. When I saw that it had Vincent D'Onofrio in it, I was not expecting anything great because I have never found him a believable character in his roles in other films and TV shows, so I was shocked at how good this movie was and how much it resonated with me. I think it may have been the first film Renee Zellweger ever made , and she was stunningly brilliant in it. Likewise it was a stellar performance by Vincent D'Onofrio. It was based on a memoir published by the woman played by Renee when she was 76 years old. It was set in rural Texas in 1933-1935, about when I was born. Even though it seems now like the people had strange old-fashioned ideas, those were the ideas I was exposed to growing up, and the conversations the people had were much like ones I had when I was young, and I suppose I still have to this day. The screenplay is extraordinarily well written, and the dialog is taken from the original book. The fact that it is a true story may be one of the things that make it so powerful. In its way it is a picture of a time and place and society every bit as revealing as a Jane Austen novel. I recommend it highly. It may be one of the best movies ever made. I give it five stars.