Main Cast: Jesse Bradford, Jeroen Krabbé, Lisa Eichhorn, Karen Allen, Spalding Gray
Release Year: 1993
Country: US
Run Time: 102 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Steven Soderbergh, after the success of sex, lies, and videotape and the commercial failure of Kafka, pulls a rabbit out of his hat with this quiet and evocative recollection of a childhood lived in the Depression, based on A. E. Hotchner's memoir. Twelve-year-old Aaron Kurlander (Jesse Bradford) is coming of age in a rotting working class section of St. Louis in 1933. As the film begins, Aaron's family is coming apart at the seams due to the increasingly bleak economy. His father (Jeroen Krabbe) ekes out a living with a series of failed sales jobs as the family lives in the dilapidated Empire Hotel in a seamy section of town. When his younger brother (Cameron Boyd) is sent to live with relatives to save expenses, his consumptive mother (Lisa Eichhorn) goes away to a sanitarium and his father abandons him to sell watches in Iowa. At first Aaron retreats into a concocted fantasy world but he gradually becomes drawn into the shattered lives of the tenants of the hotel. Aaron sees the rotting social fabric laid bare and discovers he must temper his childhood dreams with the hard-hitting realities of adult existence. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
Director Steven Soderbergh made an austere about-face from the vilified Kafka with this lyrical adaptation of A.E. Hotchner's 1973 memoir, recapturing his (previous) high standing with critics and reinforcing his status as a Hollywood outsider. Those who feared after Kafka that Soderbergh was in danger of becoming a mere stylist will find reason to rejoice here: adroitly juggling seasoned professionals with neophyte youngsters, he fully emerges as an actor's director, never sacrificing character detail for visual pyrotechnics. Though the autobiographical hero, Aaron, could have come off as either depression-era martyr or lovable imp, the young Jesse Bradford imbues him with something more elusive: the genuine curiosity of a young boy. Through it all, Soderbergh never errs in his determination to present events from the boy's point of view, and the audience is rewarded with a host of evocative supporting performances, including Spalding Grey's erudite alcoholic Mr. Mungo, a cast-against-type Elizabeth McGovern, and Karen Allen as Aaron's concerned schoolteacher. For their part, Bradford and two of his young co-stars -- Adrien Brody and Lauryn Hill -- would go on to even greater success in Hollywood into the 21st century. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Elizabeth McGovern - Lydia; Joseph Chrest - Ben; Adrien Brody - Lester; Cameron Boyd - Sullivan; Chris Samples - Billy Thompson; Katherine Heigl - Christina Sebastian; Amber Benson - Ella McShane; John "Spud" McConnell - Patrolman Burns; Ron Vawter - Mr. Desot; John Durbin - Mr. Sandoz; Lauryn Hill - Arletta; Dave Jensen - Front Desk Clerk; Timothy Bottoms; Geraldine Fitzgerald; Kristin Griffith - Mrs. McShane; Remak Ramsay - Principal Stellwater; Don Richard - Mr. Farley; Mak Takano - Mr. Yano; Deborah Aquila; Jesse Zeigler - Jealous Kid
Credit
Bill Rea - Art Director, Susan Lyall - Costume Designer, Greg Jacobs - First Assistant Director, Lynn D'Angona - First Assistant Director, Allen Kupetsky - First Assistant Director, Steven Soderbergh - Director, Steven Soderbergh - Editor, John Hardy - Executive Producer, Cliff Martinez - Composer (Music Score), Elaine Offers - Makeup, Gary Frutkoff - Production Designer, Elliot Davis - Cinematographer, Ron Yerxa - Producer, Barbara Maltby - Producer, Albert Berger - Producer, J.D. Street IV - Special Effects, Steven Soderbergh - Screenwriter, A.E. Hotchner - Book Author
