A vivid portrayal of circa 1900 American life, it is a shame that the film is so poor in structure and ill planned. Intertwining stories are thrown together erratically for the first hour or so, and it takes that long for the film to focus. It looks good, with good costumes and sets, but it is just too chaotic to be able to dig deep properly. There are plenty of good performances, good music, and towards the end the film picks up. There is enough good in it to be certainly above average, but it is far too messy along the way for the film to be anything special. It was nominated for 8 Academy awards, including a well deserved nod for Howard E. Rollins, Jr..
