After getting about 30 minutes into Ulee's Gold I said to myself, "Great. Another dysfunctional family movie." There are elements of this film that lead you to believe it will be something much bigger and much more original than the average dysfunctional family film. For instance, the dynamics of this family are set up in an interesting way. Ulee (Peter Fonda) is the grandfather of the two children he cares for. The parents of these children are criminals. Their father is in jail and their mother ran off and lives with two sleazy men she and her husband used to work with. Ulee realizes he has to bring this family back together so the plot of the film is him bringing his daughter in law home, and then facing the repercussions of this act. The story has the foundation for something incredibly enthralling, but I was personally underwhelmed as I felt that nothing much was achieved through this film and it wasn't really engaging in the slightest.
This film lacks any kind of pizazz or real gripping elements. I'm OK with this when the film makes up for it by being either incredibly well made or proves to be a much more clever and complex story. Ulee's Gold is neither of these things. It just kind of leaves you with a sense of lackluster, half entertained dullness. There isn't much to this film, as far as I could tell, and it didn't really grab me emotionally like I felt it tried to do. While it could have really moved me or really intellectually engaged me, it fell short and I see it now as another film that ends up just being there. It's just another film with nothing very special about it to get my attention.
But perhaps I'm being too harsh on the films story just for not living up to my expectations. It is an interesting story and it has its moments that can draw you in, but overall I was underwhelmed. Where this film's major issues stem from is just its overall tone. One of my least favorite things is when a film wants to be dramatic and it just tries too hard to be sincere and depressing. In Ulee's Gold I feel as if every character has just woken up at every moment of the film. They are all so bland and so dull that I just want to yell at them, "Have some enthusiasm! Wake up! Speak up!" The entire film just gives off this unbelievable sense of melodrama with all of the characters acting way too bleak. I understand that they are all in bad situations, and no doubt have a reason to be depressed, but if this monotone attitude could just break for one second I could buy into the drama of this film a little more. But instead the whole film is loaded with unrealistic dialouge that just furthers a one dimensional tone that gets old quickly. There's that split between realistic drama and melodrama. I wouldn't say Ulee's Gold dives head first into the melodrama side, but it certainly leans way too far in that direction for me to consider this emotionally engaging drama.
I really wanted to enjoy Ulee's Gold. It had so much going for it and is one of those films that could have been so much better. But try as I might I could only find this film slow, dull, and monotonous. People have revered Peter Fonda's role as Ulee, but I honestly saw nothing in his performance. It fit with the rest of the dreary acting, complete with blank stare and all. I felt nothing while watching this movie, and that includes entertainment. I figure I will forget this movie within a week. Unfortunate, but true.
This film lacks any kind of pizazz or real gripping elements. I'm OK with this when the film makes up for it by being either incredibly well made or proves to be a much more clever and complex story. Ulee's Gold is neither of these things. It just kind of leaves you with a sense of lackluster, half entertained dullness. There isn't much to this film, as far as I could tell, and it didn't really grab me emotionally like I felt it tried to do. While it could have really moved me or really intellectually engaged me, it fell short and I see it now as another film that ends up just being there. It's just another film with nothing very special about it to get my attention.
But perhaps I'm being too harsh on the films story just for not living up to my expectations. It is an interesting story and it has its moments that can draw you in, but overall I was underwhelmed. Where this film's major issues stem from is just its overall tone. One of my least favorite things is when a film wants to be dramatic and it just tries too hard to be sincere and depressing. In Ulee's Gold I feel as if every character has just woken up at every moment of the film. They are all so bland and so dull that I just want to yell at them, "Have some enthusiasm! Wake up! Speak up!" The entire film just gives off this unbelievable sense of melodrama with all of the characters acting way too bleak. I understand that they are all in bad situations, and no doubt have a reason to be depressed, but if this monotone attitude could just break for one second I could buy into the drama of this film a little more. But instead the whole film is loaded with unrealistic dialouge that just furthers a one dimensional tone that gets old quickly. There's that split between realistic drama and melodrama. I wouldn't say Ulee's Gold dives head first into the melodrama side, but it certainly leans way too far in that direction for me to consider this emotionally engaging drama.
I really wanted to enjoy Ulee's Gold. It had so much going for it and is one of those films that could have been so much better. But try as I might I could only find this film slow, dull, and monotonous. People have revered Peter Fonda's role as Ulee, but I honestly saw nothing in his performance. It fit with the rest of the dreary acting, complete with blank stare and all. I felt nothing while watching this movie, and that includes entertainment. I figure I will forget this movie within a week. Unfortunate, but true.