Like the book, Tuck Everlasting proves odd fare for the audience it would generically be made for. Considering it was technically made for 9-11 year olds, it's incredible, and applaudable, for a so called "generic Disney family film" to be so intelligent, thought provoking, and high quality. It's a real "family" film as opposed to the empty fare most movies of the same nature are. It can be slightly macabre, gently philosophical, and ponderous; it IS gentle, slow moving, and quiet, and believe it or not, it proves to be a somewhat mesmerizing, magical, other-worldly experience: lyrical and haunting folk strained music sifts through the scenery, in this case the magically captured springtime woodlands of Maryland where it was filmed, a believable and genuinely played young love romance, and the storybook-like narration from Elizabeth Shue provide an almost unbelievably pretty setting which we're immersed in. ...And it certainly isn't a bad thing. The rest of the film is much the same. A briefing to the plot of the book: The Tucks have immortality a la a hidden spring, Winnie Foster stumbles onto it, they kidnap her but ultimately teach her about the grim facts and joys life, and then a number of fast paced, short fuse adventures ensue, eventually leaving us with an ending that makes a lot of people cry. That's the book, and the movie is almost exactly the same. Some liberal changes, but the characters are there, completely.
Jay Russell, the director, must have been faced with an odd dilemma, turn what was already a heavy duty little fable into a tale that would please the enigma: the ever spoiled audience...and "Tuck" seems to float at it's own pace. It moves at an unusual speed for films these days, it just strolls along lovingly and thoughtfully, with some tense moments here and there, until the last 30 minutes or so, where everything falls into place with help from those exciting escapades. Then they use the last few shots of the film to induce one to tears in a way you wouldn't expect, by utilizing the hefty amount of previous movie where the characters, as they do in the storyline, merely "existed". It's smart, and it works, and the result is beautiful, if not bittersweet and heartbreaking.
Having said that, the film isn't staggeringly amazing in it's style or it's performances or it's script. Some of the camerawork didn't do anything for me, and the editing was a bit...off. The direction isn't anything Oscarworthy, but after all it's a family film, but not a generic one. Other than the absolutely stunning cinematography AND gorgeous, haunting score AND the great costumes AND production design (these last two aspects help the feel of the film greatly, in a film that relies on "feel" and that tangibility a great deal), the beauty of the film lies in it's sincerity and its simplicity, it's message and it's moral, and it's hefty handful of purely breathtaking and wonderful moments...and what I though was a truly beautiful ending.
Bledel (plays Winnie Foster) and Jackson (plays Jesse Tuck) have a chemistry, Jackson is truly capable at playing a wonderfully likeable and serious young fellow, and makes you want to run off with him and listen. Likewise Bledel does a great job with balancing a film on her shoulders, considering it's her film debut as opposed to her vastly different role and setting on "Gilmore Girls". As for the highly plugged "Oscar nominated cast", Kingsley is the standout with all the nuances you could possibly need and a performance that is downright creepy. Though Hurt and Spacek get very little screentime, they provide a familiarity and stability to the film, giving it a backbone so to speak. Just to see them in the background and to know they are there helps create a mood and atmosphere about their home and the Tucks' personalities . The rest of the cast, Garber, Irving, and Bairstow, are fairly capable, with Irving leading the pack.
This is a wonderful film. Quite brave considering all the flash and dash and raucousness of most films for the "teen/kid" age group these days. See it to bring your kids to a wholesome, mature-minded film that won't ruin YOUR ear drums, to get your mind off of everything else, to wax nostalgia, or gawk at pretty things and interesting ideas. It gives room to think and to daze in a bucolic setting with a wonderful passionate story about life.
Jay Russell, the director, must have been faced with an odd dilemma, turn what was already a heavy duty little fable into a tale that would please the enigma: the ever spoiled audience...and "Tuck" seems to float at it's own pace. It moves at an unusual speed for films these days, it just strolls along lovingly and thoughtfully, with some tense moments here and there, until the last 30 minutes or so, where everything falls into place with help from those exciting escapades. Then they use the last few shots of the film to induce one to tears in a way you wouldn't expect, by utilizing the hefty amount of previous movie where the characters, as they do in the storyline, merely "existed". It's smart, and it works, and the result is beautiful, if not bittersweet and heartbreaking.
Having said that, the film isn't staggeringly amazing in it's style or it's performances or it's script. Some of the camerawork didn't do anything for me, and the editing was a bit...off. The direction isn't anything Oscarworthy, but after all it's a family film, but not a generic one. Other than the absolutely stunning cinematography AND gorgeous, haunting score AND the great costumes AND production design (these last two aspects help the feel of the film greatly, in a film that relies on "feel" and that tangibility a great deal), the beauty of the film lies in it's sincerity and its simplicity, it's message and it's moral, and it's hefty handful of purely breathtaking and wonderful moments...and what I though was a truly beautiful ending.
Bledel (plays Winnie Foster) and Jackson (plays Jesse Tuck) have a chemistry, Jackson is truly capable at playing a wonderfully likeable and serious young fellow, and makes you want to run off with him and listen. Likewise Bledel does a great job with balancing a film on her shoulders, considering it's her film debut as opposed to her vastly different role and setting on "Gilmore Girls". As for the highly plugged "Oscar nominated cast", Kingsley is the standout with all the nuances you could possibly need and a performance that is downright creepy. Though Hurt and Spacek get very little screentime, they provide a familiarity and stability to the film, giving it a backbone so to speak. Just to see them in the background and to know they are there helps create a mood and atmosphere about their home and the Tucks' personalities . The rest of the cast, Garber, Irving, and Bairstow, are fairly capable, with Irving leading the pack.
This is a wonderful film. Quite brave considering all the flash and dash and raucousness of most films for the "teen/kid" age group these days. See it to bring your kids to a wholesome, mature-minded film that won't ruin YOUR ear drums, to get your mind off of everything else, to wax nostalgia, or gawk at pretty things and interesting ideas. It gives room to think and to daze in a bucolic setting with a wonderful passionate story about life.