Years ago,I caught my first John Sayles movie.It was "Matwan." It was a riveting story about a coal miners strike in West Virginia in the early 1920s and it played to pretty small audiences, even for an art house film. But, despite some minor problems, it was a small masterpiece.
Since then, Sayles has proven himself to be one of the best directors in America when it comes to dealing with regional topics that in reality affect all of us.
Sayles has been more successful at some times than at others as he skips around the country, highlighting one region or another. "City of Hope," about a decaying New Jersey town, was rather hit and miss. "Lone Star," about life in a Texas border town, came closer to hitting its mark. But a film set in Alaska after that failed in my view. With "Sunshine State," Sayles is right on the money.
Sayles gives us the best look at Florida since Victor Nunez' "Ruby in Paradise" which was simply brilliant.
The story, reportedly shot on Amelia Island, Florida, is about the lives of numerous characters caught in a tug of war as two land development outfits try to move in on middle and lower middle class people trying to live their lives on an island off the Florida coast.
And the great thing is, the developers are not completely bad, and some of the locals actually want to sell out, and as fast as possible.
Edie Falco and Angela Bassett have the meatiest roles and both shine in them. But this is a real ensemble piece, and Tim Hutton, Gordon Jump, Ralph Waite and a slew of others,including Alan King playing Alan King, do excellent work as well.
This is a good Robert Altman movie about working class people with that special Sayles touch, meaning there are no cliches involved. Most of these characters don't want to be working class, they want to move up or at least out.
Don't miss this one. There won't be many this year that are this good.
Since then, Sayles has proven himself to be one of the best directors in America when it comes to dealing with regional topics that in reality affect all of us.
Sayles has been more successful at some times than at others as he skips around the country, highlighting one region or another. "City of Hope," about a decaying New Jersey town, was rather hit and miss. "Lone Star," about life in a Texas border town, came closer to hitting its mark. But a film set in Alaska after that failed in my view. With "Sunshine State," Sayles is right on the money.
Sayles gives us the best look at Florida since Victor Nunez' "Ruby in Paradise" which was simply brilliant.
The story, reportedly shot on Amelia Island, Florida, is about the lives of numerous characters caught in a tug of war as two land development outfits try to move in on middle and lower middle class people trying to live their lives on an island off the Florida coast.
And the great thing is, the developers are not completely bad, and some of the locals actually want to sell out, and as fast as possible.
Edie Falco and Angela Bassett have the meatiest roles and both shine in them. But this is a real ensemble piece, and Tim Hutton, Gordon Jump, Ralph Waite and a slew of others,including Alan King playing Alan King, do excellent work as well.
This is a good Robert Altman movie about working class people with that special Sayles touch, meaning there are no cliches involved. Most of these characters don't want to be working class, they want to move up or at least out.
Don't miss this one. There won't be many this year that are this good.