Empire Falls (2005)
Empire Falls is a depressing town in which every resident has problems, and all but one of those problems are self-inflicted. The one exception is Joanne Woodward’s crippled daughter who was run over by a car when she was a toddler. It’s hard to feel sorry for anyone else in the town. Ed Harris manages a restaurant but can’t get his head above water because wealthy Woodward owns everything and to cross her means ruination. So don’t cross her! He can’t express his feelings for his soon-to-be-ex-wife Helen Hunt, so she’s going to marry someone else. Just figure your feelings out, and either fight for her or let her go—it’s not that difficult! Helen Hunt is upset because her fiancé is significantly older than her, but he loves her and is great in the sack-a-roo. Get your priorities straight, Helen! Robin Wright Penn is a single mom drawn to mysterious, wealthy Philip Seymour Hoffman. Just say no and focus on your kid! Hoffman is miserable in his environment—so leave! Paul Newman is the town joke/drunk/mooch, but he wants to feel the excitement of being a young man again. Clean up your act!
Alright, my frustrations have been aired out, but I don’t think I’ve successfully steered you away from Empire Falls. It’s incredibly depressing, and not in a good way. It was based off of Richard Russo’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, so I kept waiting for the redeeming factor to enter the story. The three and a half hour HBO tv movie is split into eight chapters, and in the seventh chapter, something really bad happens. You know I never give spoilers, but the thing that happens is really upsetting and unnecessary. It’s random and doesn’t tie in to any part of the story, serving only to shock and upset audiences (and readers) and to gain Russo the Pulitzer Prize. It’s terribly obvious that’s why he wrote it, a reason that’s not noble and, frankly, almost angers me.
There’s only one good part of the entire movie: In a flashback to a young Paul Newman, Josh Lucas was cast. I’ve always thought Lucas and Newman looked alike, so I was very happy that Hollywood agreed with me, even only for a few minutes of a flashback. The story constantly flashes back to Ed Harris’s childhood memories, and for most of the time, it’s boring and not very interesting.
I can’t stress enough how terrible Empire Falls is. Please, please don’t watch it. It’s so incredibly upsetting, and for absolutely no purpose, that when it was over, I had to watch an animal documentary to comfort my mind before going to bed, for fear of nightmares. The story isn’t deep or symbolic. There’s no “greater good” that will make you feel better.
I never give spoilers in my review, but if you’re still considering watching Empire Falls, I urge you to click here. Then, if after reading my spoiler, you’re still considering watching it, get your head examined.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to some extremely upsetting content, I wouldn’t let my kids watch it.
More Paul Newman movies here!
Alright, my frustrations have been aired out, but I don’t think I’ve successfully steered you away from Empire Falls. It’s incredibly depressing, and not in a good way. It was based off of Richard Russo’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, so I kept waiting for the redeeming factor to enter the story. The three and a half hour HBO tv movie is split into eight chapters, and in the seventh chapter, something really bad happens. You know I never give spoilers, but the thing that happens is really upsetting and unnecessary. It’s random and doesn’t tie in to any part of the story, serving only to shock and upset audiences (and readers) and to gain Russo the Pulitzer Prize. It’s terribly obvious that’s why he wrote it, a reason that’s not noble and, frankly, almost angers me.
There’s only one good part of the entire movie: In a flashback to a young Paul Newman, Josh Lucas was cast. I’ve always thought Lucas and Newman looked alike, so I was very happy that Hollywood agreed with me, even only for a few minutes of a flashback. The story constantly flashes back to Ed Harris’s childhood memories, and for most of the time, it’s boring and not very interesting.
I can’t stress enough how terrible Empire Falls is. Please, please don’t watch it. It’s so incredibly upsetting, and for absolutely no purpose, that when it was over, I had to watch an animal documentary to comfort my mind before going to bed, for fear of nightmares. The story isn’t deep or symbolic. There’s no “greater good” that will make you feel better.
I never give spoilers in my review, but if you’re still considering watching Empire Falls, I urge you to click here. Then, if after reading my spoiler, you’re still considering watching it, get your head examined.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to some extremely upsetting content, I wouldn’t let my kids watch it.
More Paul Newman movies here!