USA,
1996, 84 min
Shown in 1997
CREDITS
- dir
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Tim Blake Nelson
- prod
-
Wendy Ettinger, Michael Nelson
- scr
-
Tim Blake Nelson
- cast
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Martha Plimpton, Hal Holbrook, Kevin Anderson, Nick Stahl, Margo Martindale, Mary Kay Place
- source
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Minnow Pictures, Inc., 648 Broadway, Suite 600, New York, NY 10012. FAX: 212-307-7855
-
COMMENTS
SKYY Prize Nominee. Tim Blake Nelson in person.
OTHER
Tim Nelson's feature debut, Eye of God, is a methodical and carefully crafted yet fully realized portrait of a small town in the desolate Oklahoma oil fields. It's also a rarity in American independent cinema because it works on multiple levels without compromising any of its power or effectiveness. An ostensibly simple story unfolds as the police interrogate a young boy found walking along the road bloody and in shock. As the sheriff, beautifully played by old pro Hal Holbrook, gently prods his almost catatonic witness, we flash back to six months earlier, when Ainsley met her long-term correspondent, Jack, for the first time: He was just paroled, rehabilitated and deeply religious. He seemed genuinely eager to change his life and so, somewhat precipitiously, they decided to marry. Ainsley and Jack may not be compatible, but director Nelson has not chosen to tell a straightforward tale of suspense or discovery. Instead, as the story's parallel lines interweave, a much deeper set of questions begins to surface. With wonderful performances, especially by Martha Plimpton as Ainsley and Kevin Anderson as Jack, Eye of God is at once a dramatic story and a cerebral contemplation. Nelson displays a superb grasp of filmmaking structure and crafts a modern tale of spiritual discovery and doubt.
—Geoffrey Gilmore, Sundance Film Festival
FACTOID #61
The first repertory film screened at Festival was The Bluebird (1940), based on Maurice Maeterlinck’s play, showed October 23, 1965, with Shirley Temple Black in person to discuss her role in the film.
