Themes: Farm Life, Fighting the System, Crumbling Marriages
Main Cast: Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard, Wilford Brimley, Matt Clark, Therese Graham
Release Year: 1984
Country: US
Run Time: 109 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Released in the mid-1980s, this farm drama stars Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard as Jewell and Gil Ivy, who run a small farm in Iowa that has been in Jewell's family for several generations; her father Otis (Wilford Brimley) lives with them, along with their three children. While the work is hard and the earnings are slim, the Ivys have been able to get by, like most of their neighbors, until a one-two punch threatens to devastate the Iowa farming community. First, a tornado devastates the area, then the Farmers Home Administration calls in the loans on most of the farmers in the area, which they are in no position to repay. With thirty days to "voluntarily liquidate" their property, the Ivys, like most of their friends and neighbors, are desperate to find a way to hold on to their property, and when the stress causes Gil to buckle, Jewell must step in to keep the clan going. In addition to starring as Gil, Sam Shepard also contributed (without credit) to William D. Wittliff's screenplay; Wittliff was also slated to direct, but shortly after shooting began he was replaced by Richard Pearce. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
The widespread foreclosure of small family farms during the early '80s forms the backdrop for William D. Wittliff's often affecting, if essentially predictable melodrama, featuring exceptional work by Jessica Lange. With Ronald Reagan's appointment of former agribusiness executive William Brock as Secretary of Agriculture, the days of the small farmer were numbered. For Lange, who also served as executive producer, the plight of the farmers is clearly close to her heart, and the film's portrayal of a staunch matriarch desperately trying to hold her disintegrating family together occasionally evokes The Grapes of Wrath. If the scope of its social observation and depth of characterization can hardly stand comparison with the earlier film, there are moments, such as the scene of the farm's auction, and in particular a long shot at the end of a hallway of Lange and husband Gil (Sam Shepard) embracing in silhouette that John Ford himself might have appreciated. Despite having to work with characters condemned to a certain passivity, the cast does an excellent job, and Lange is at her best in a memorable, mutely expressive performance. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Levi L. Knebel - Carlisle Ivy; Jim Haynie - Arlon Brewer; Sandra Seacat - Louise Brewer; Alex Harvey - Fordyce; Jim Ostercamp - Cowboy; Norman Bennett - Farmer; Conrad Doan - Auctioneer; Warren Duit - Preacher; James Harrell - Bank Officer; Ambrose Knebel - Farmer; Vern Porter - Longley; Stephanie-Stacie Poyner - Missy Ivy; Robert Somers - Grain Elevator Operator; John Jones - Band
Credit
John Mansbridge - Art Director, Rita Salazar - Costume Designer, Tommy Welsh - Costume Designer, Richard Pearce - Director, Bill Yahraus - Editor, Charles Gross - Composer (Music Score), Ron Hobbs - Production Designer, Louis Mann - Production Designer, David M. Walsh - Cinematographer, Roger Shearman - Cinematographer, Jessica Lange - Producer, William D. Wittliff - Producer, William Beaudine, Jr. - Producer, John Franco, Jr. - Set Designer, Jim Webb - Sound/Sound Designer, Scott Senechal - Sound/Sound Designer, Whitey Hughes - Stunts, William D. Wittliff - Screenwriter
Country is a 1984 film which follows the trials and tribulations of a rural family as they struggle to hold onto their farm during the trying economic times experienced by family farms in 1980s America. The film was written by William D. Wittliff and stars real-life couple Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard. The film was directed by Richard Pearce and was shot on location in Iowa and at Burbank's Walt Disney Studios.
Gilbert "Gil" Ivy (Sam Shepard) and his wife Jewell (Jessica Lange) have worked Jewell's family farm for years, and her father Otis (Wilford Brimley) doesn't want to see his family farm lost to foreclosure. However, low crop prices, pending FHA loans and a tornado all put pressure on the struggling family as they face hardship and the prospect of losing their home and livelihood.
