Sunshine State (2002) (AKA John Sayles'
Sunshine State)
NOTE: Just take my word for
it. This movie is awesome. See it as soon as possible.
There are a few minor spoilers in this review. Don't
let anyone spoil anything about this film for you. SEE
IT! Then come back and read this review please.
It takes John Sayles almost an hour to begin evolving
his theme in "Sunshine State." But when it begins to
emerge, it is resonant, important and engrossing. The
film is about nothing less than how life, in the sense
of community and commerce, has changed over the last
500 hundred years or so, how it has rapidly changed
recently. This is a film that bemoans the loss of the
local entrepreneur while acknowledging that change is
necessary and never as bad as it seems. It's about how
all of our communities have evolved, sometimes for the
better, sometimes for the worse, in the last 50 years.
There are several seemingly divergent storylines
in the film which all take place around the same Florida
island. One involves a black woman and her new husband
going back to visit her mother. There is a history here
that becomes more and more clear as the plot progresses.
Also, the mother has taken in a troubled young man from
her family. The family dynamic, and what family means,
is an important part of Sayles theme and this idea,
a troubled teen cared for by family, is consequential.
This African-American subplot, as well as the whole
movie, is set against a backdrop of change on the island.
Developers are threatening to buy up an area of property
that used to be a "blacks only" beach. Another aging
local resident is trying to fight city hall on this
issue. Actors in this segment include Angela Bassett,
James McDaniel, Bill Cobbs and Mary Alice.
Meanwhile, the developers are also trying to purchase
a mom-and-pop style motel and restaurant. The nearly
blind man who owns the property allows his daughter
to run it. While one landscape architect woos the woman,
with no ulterior motives, his associates are more conniving.
Edie Falco, Timothy Hutton, Jane Alexander, Ralph Waite,
and Miguel Ferrer act out this storyline. Waite is awesome
here. Sayles gives him brilliant dialogue and Waite
makes it all his own. It becomes profound in the actor's
hands. This is a performance that should be remembered
and honored at Oscar time.
The more underhanded members of the development
firm are dealing with a banker who has some gambling
problems. His wife, a community leader, is busy working
on a local event. This section, the film's most obvious
and dull, has Mary Steenburgen and Gordon Clapp as the
couple. Sam MacMurray, Perry Lang, Charlayne Woodard,
and Alan King also have roles here.
I don't want to talk too much about plot and theme
of this film. It's too good to spoil. Sayles may take
a bit of time with his multi-character, multi-plot storyline
but he is masterful at easily tying everything together.
Community is an issue here, and the disintegration of
community, so it is important and relevant for Sayles
to intertwine his storylines. He does so with the most
interesting and believable of threads. This is an awesome
script.
Sayles photographic efforts, with DP Patrick Cady,
may seem nonexistent until one thinks about how easily
the whole film meshes together. With so many characters
and plotlines to expose, Sayles film never seems boring
or confusing, nor does it seem unrealistic or forced.
His images here wash over us lazily, like waves on a
Florida beach, until we are wetted with desire to see
and hear more. Like the vacation spot it once was, the
community at focus here is captivating and entertaining.
We don't want to leave!
"Sunshine State" is yet another in a long line
of really good Sayles films. If you enjoyed the filmmaker's
"City of Hope," this is a film for you. But anyone who
enjoys story and intelligence will find much to like
here.
Note:
Score by Mason Daring, a longtime Sayles collaborator
|
Report
Card
Script:
A+
Acting: A+
Cinematography\Lighting: A+
Special Effects\Make Up: A+
Music: A+
Final
Grade: A+
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