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REVIEWS
Please choose one to jump to that review:
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: "Touching 'Fields' a Real Find"- March 4, 2000
LOS ANGELES TIMES: "Loyalties, Loss and Longing Fill Showtime's 'Wild Fields'"- March 4, 2000
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: "Run The Wild Fields"- March 2, 2000
VARIETY: "Run The Wild Fields Review"- March 3, 2000
WALL STREET JOURNAL: "Run The Wild Fields Review"- March 3, 2000
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: "Run The Wild Fields Review"- March 5, 2000
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: " Run The Wild Fields"- March 3, 2000
THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE: "Run the Wild Fields"- March 5, 2000
TV GUIDE ULTIMATE CABLE: "Field of Dreams"- March 4, 2000
New York Daily News Occasionally, a film comes along that touches the heart in a very special way. Because it's su Two major reasons why "Run the Wild Fields," on Showtime tomorrow night at 8, is so effective are:
Rodney Vaccaro's dandy script, based an his play "And the Home of the Brave," and the understated performance of Sean Patrick Flanery Flanery plays Tom, a drifter who becomes an
important part of the lives of two people, Ruby (Joanne Whalley) and her young daughter, Pug (Alexa Vega). The time is World War II and the setting a small farm town in the West.
The narrator is Pug, who looks back on her childhood and the influenceof Tom upon her life. Some brief background on Flanery, who is 34: On TV, he'sremembered for thetitle role in
"The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles." His films include "Powder," "Simply Irresistible," "Suicide Kings" and 'The Grass Harp."
Watching him, one can't help but be reminded of a younger Robert Redford. It's when his character of Tom is found bleeding on the roadside after an attackby dogs that the drama begins. He's found by Pug and offered
shelter by her mother; who has been patiently waiting for three years for the war to end and her husband, Frank, to come home. Smalltown suspicions immediately surface when Ruby, to keep Tom out
of trouble, offers him work on the farm. Silas (Cotter Smith), a neighbor with designs on Ruby, tells her he's "bothered by this situation," and proceeds to dig up dirt on Tom. He's painted as a draft dodger, and a
"Nazi lover" by Pug's young friends. Meanwhile Tom works the farm and slowly and gently becomes an integral part of the lives of Ruby and her daughter. There are touching
scenes between the child and Tom, who is her constant companion. He delights her by teaching her to dance for a Fourth of July celebration, where he's taunted by bullies who call him a coward.
Even Ruby has warmed to Tom, and while there are moments when their mutual attraction seems about to blossom they're always respectfully
restrained. (Don't expect any tearingoff of clothes here.) But there are secrets of Tom's past hidden in a little box in his room, which Pug gets
hold of that add substance to the plot. Without revealing the details, you can bet he was no coward. Then, too, there's the question of Frank, and will he return? The film's
ending alone is worth your time. There is the added bonus of a fine cast, splendidly directed by Paul A. Kaufman, who also was executive producer
Touching 'Fields' a real find
By Kay Gardella
Saturday March 4, 2000
ch a simple film with no earthshaking message, it's hard to explain why a movie like today's choice
speaks so eloquently to our sensitivity, our humanity and, especially, our heart.
Los Angeles Times For the wife and young daughter of a missinginaction World War II soldier, it's not "if" he will return, it's "when." Time passes, though, and hope becomes
habit, until the unsettling arrival of a taciturn young drifter. What happens to all three is told by the daughter, looking back to her childhood, in "Run the Wild Fields," a Showtime family movie premiere. Written by Rodney Vaccaro, who adapted it from his play, "Home of the Brave," this tale of a woman learning to reembrace life, as seen through the eyes of her 10-yearold daughter, Pug (Alexa Vega),
doesn't deliver the depth it promises, but it does dip below the surface. That's primarily because of Joanne Whalley's dignity as enduring wife Ruby, and to many quietly observed moments, including a
thoughtful ending that rises above predictability. In a small rural town, Ruby helps injured drifter Tom (Sean Patrick Flanery), then takes him on as hired hand for the family farm. Both Pug and Ruby find
themselves drawn to handsome Tom--who clearly has his own ghosts to lay to rest-and they struggle with confused loyalties, loss and longing. In the small, patriotic rural town, Tom is soon rumored to be a draft
dodger and becomes a target for bullies; Pug defends him with her fists; and hardnosed neighbor, Silas (Cotter Smith), who aches to be Ruby's suitor, suffers escalating jealousy. Under Paul A. Kaufman's
direction, the film's strength is most often found in Whalley and Flanery's stillnesses and expressive faces. (Flanery's only false note is his unaccountably Marlon Brandoish soliloquy as Tom reveals his past.)
Some moments ring deeply true: the way eyes follow the wartime telegraph truck's approach with frozen dread; Pug's guilty yearning for Tom to take her father's place; Ruby's try at taking an irrevocable step away from her
missing husband; and an understated encounter that wouldn't be fair to give way. Not many surprises, but no cheap shots, either.
Loyalties, Loss and Longing fill Showtime's 'Wild Fields'
By Lynne Heffley
Saturday March 4, 2000
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Cable TV Review Maybe to get this made as a theatrical release, you'd have to throw in a
couple of gu Touching without lapsing into overt sentimentality, the World War II-era telefilm reflects well on everyone who
put this production together. The memory story is narrated by an unseen woman who recalls childhood experiences on her parents' North Carolina farm. The narrator is young Opal, nicknamed
Pug (Alexa Vega), who lives on the farm with her mother, Ruby (Joanne Whalley). Ruby has been languishing, ever since her husband Frank went to war.
There has been no word of him for three years, but Ruby's still hanging on, hoping he'll return. She refuses to work the fields, waiting for Frank and she makes a nightly ritual out of winding his watch. Resisting offers
of help from wealthy neighbor Silas (Cotter Smith), Ruby also turns away from his romantic interest Into this mix comes a drifter, Tom (Sean Patrick Flanery), upon whom
Ruby takes pity She offers him a place in the barn and meals if he'll help her around the farm, and eventually she decides to plant the neglected fields.
Silas, jealous of the mysterious stranger, discovers with the help of the sheriff that Tom did time in a Civilian Public Service camp after refusing to fight in World War II. Tom is branded a coward and draft dodger by the
ultrapatriotic town, and that brings trouble to Pug and Ruby, who try to hide their disappointment about Tom's apparently cowardly ways. Naturally, there's more to Tom than meets the eye, and as things come to
a dramatic head, Ruby and Tom grow closer. Ultimately, a couple of surprises come out of left field, twists that actually make the story richer.
Whalley's character is delightfully strong and opinionated, although she follows the Popular Zeitgeist of prowar sentiment Although the audience may be rooting for her to take the leap and quickly embrace this new
romance, her hesitation is copletely in character and makes the story even more poignant. As for Flanery, his Tom is the quintessential Southern gentleman, an
honest man perfectly suited to a romantic tale like this one. Vega's young girl does a fine job as well, shooting off enthusiasm and high spirits and unhappiness with finesse.
Photography and settings are rich and dreamlike, giving the perfect frame to another era.
"Run the Wild Fields"
by Michael Farkash
March 2, 2000
nfights and a bar brawl, but Showtime's "Run the Wild Fields"
is a tender, well acted film that deserves exhibition in any and all venues.
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Run The Wild Fields
By Ramin Zahed
March 3, 2000
(Telepic; Showtime; Sun. March 5, 8 p.m.)
Filmed in Vancouver by Showtime Original Pictures. Exec producers, Paul A. Kaufman, Paul Rauch,
Robert Halmi Jr.; director, Paul A. Kaufman, writer, Rodney Vaccaro, based on his play "And the Home of the Brave"; camera, Thom Best, production designer, Vlasta Svovoda, editor, Susan
Crutcher, music, Laura Karpman; casting Mary Jo Slater. 120 MIN.
Ruby Miller…….. Joanne Whalley
Tom Walker.. … Sean Patrick Flanery
Silas Green……. Cotter Smith
Opel Miller……….Alexa Vega
A gentle WW-II-era drama set in a small North Carolina town, Showtime's "Run the Wild Fields" is the type of memory pic that used to pop up on PBS' now defunct "American Playhouse" years ago. Rich in period detail and featuring a strong cast and beautiful lensing, pic falters a bit in the pacing department during its second act, but finishes on a solid note nonetheless.
Story is seen through the eyes of spunky 11-year-old Opal, who recalls the bucolic days spent with her mother on their family farm, while her dad was serving overseas. When a handsome drifter (Sean Patrick Flanery) enters their lives and is hired to help out on the farm, complications arise that leave a lasting impression on the narrator. "I'm thinking he's mysterious," says Opal to her friends, and she's quite right.
Although the stranger is called a coward and a draft dodger by the unsympathetic townsfolk, Opal and her mother let the young man stay on the farm, and eventually, the real truth about his past emerges.
Brit thesp Joanne Whalley, who perfected her Southern drawl in the TV mini "Scarlett" a few years back, is quite believable in the role of Ruby Miller, a woman torn by her attraction to the new arrival and her love for her absent husband. She also has a touching rapport with Alexa Vega ("Ladies Man"), the dynamite young actress who carries the film on her little shoulders. Cotter Smith brings much needed tension to the mix as a jealous neighbor who has carried a flame for Ruby for years.
If the film falters in parts, it's because of the stiff, sugary voiceover narration by Deborah R. Sullivan. one can't help think what sort of magic a stronger thesp like Julie Harris or Shirley Knight could have worked with their voices.
Director Paul A. Kaufman's knack for capturing quiet moments is especially reflected in scenes in which a married couple discover the fate of their son from a telegram deliverer, or the reaction of the town's residents to the news of President Roosevelt's death.
Pic scores with Thom Best's lush photography and Vlasta Svovoda's excellent production design. After watching the film, you really feel like you've visited this farm, lived during the Second World War, and known these people which is exactly what an effective coming-of-age tale is supposed to do.
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Run The Wild Fields Review
By Barbara D. Phillips
March 3, 2000
March 5 8-9:40p.m. EST on Showtime In this moving and atmospheric "Showtime Original Picture for All Ages,"
an unseen narrator looks back at her childhood on a North Carolina farm during World War II, when she was just 10 and her father had been missing in action for three years. Pug (Alexa Vega) and her mother
(Joanne Whalley) befriend a tramp (Sean Patrick Flanery), much to the town's dismay, and find their lives transformed as they take him to their hearts. Paul A. Kaufman directed Rodney Vaccaro's adaptation of his own
play, "And the Home of the Brave."
New York Daily News
Hope Takes Root In "Wild Fields"
March 5, 2000
By Paul Schultz
Du
ring World War II, there were battles on the home front, too - like the
constant struggle to survive with the breadwinner gone, or the fight to maintain hope for missing loved ones.
"Run the Wild Fields" tells the story of a 10-year-old girl, Pug (Alexa Vega), and her mother, Ruby (Joanne Whalley) on the family farm in 1945 North Carolina. Though Pug's father has been missing in action for
three years in the Pacific, her mother still believes he will return. Pug and Ruby allow a tight-lipped drifter, Tom (Sean Patrick Flanery), to
recover from a dog bite at their house. Soon he's hired as a farmhand, working on the land as well as on Pug and Ruby's affection. The townsfolk, on the other hand, take a disliking to the mysterious Tom
and label him a coward and draft dodger. The situation on the farm eventually reaches a crisis when Pug begins to view Tom as a father, and Ruby sees him as a possible lover.
The film is well worth watching, not the least for the performances of the female stars: Vega nails her Southern accent, and when she babbles sweetly it's most affecting. Whalley, meanwhile, is smoldering as the
woman waiting for her man: she communicates both fortitude and vulnerability. The script, like Tom, is soft-spoken yet powerful, providing plot and
character study in measured doses. The voice-over narrations of Pug as a woman ads a wistful almost sepia tone to the story like a chapter in an
old, treasured book. And though it tells an adult story, "Run the Wild Fields" is fine for the whole family.
The Christian Science Monitor
By Lisa Leigh Parney
March 3, 2000
Run the Wild Fields (Showtime, 8-10 p.m.): This modest period piece about the effects of World War II on a small southern town has moments of poignancy. A woman reflects back on her childhood, her father missing in action, her mother's brave front, and the drifter that temporarily lightened their lives. Beautifully performed by Joanne Whalley and Sean Patrick Flanery and especially young Alexa Vega.
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In this charming period piece that captures the look and feel of patriotic World War II America, a woman looks back to a time when she and her
mother lived on a small South Carolina farm waiting for her father to return from the war. Her father has been missing in action for three years, and the family lies
as fallow as the farm, waiting for a return that may never happen. Into this void walks mysterious drifter Tom, a man some think is a coward who has dodged the war.
Alex Vega is simply captivating as 10-year-old Pug, a young girl in desperate need of a father figure, which she finds in Tom (Sean Patrick Flanery). Tom's a man of few words, but Flanery's able to convey volumes
with his expressive face. Joanne Whalley also steps up to the plate with a powerful portrait of Ruby, who is drawn to this man yet can't quite give up hope that her beloved husband may yet return to her. Is an engaging story, filled with the promise of better days ahead for all.
"Run The Wild Fields"
By Sandy Young
Sunday March 5, 2000
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Field of Dreams JOA
By Michael Logan
March 4, 2000
NNE WHALLEY has been put out to pasture, and she doesn't mind one
bit. The 35-year-old British beauty - best known to American audiences as Scarlet O'Hara from the 1994 miniseries Scarlet is swinging on the porch of a quaint, rundown farmhouse just outside Toronto. Built
in 1840, the two story structure surrounded by gorgeous green meadows, is the primary backdrop for Showtime's Run the Wild Fields, a film reminiscent of the lush romances that made moviegoers swoon in
the 1940's and '50s. The movie, set during World War II, finds Whalley playing yet another Southern belle: Ruby Miller, a lonely North Carolina farmwife torn between her attraction to a sweet, mysterious hired
hand (Sean Patrick Flanery) and the loyalty she still feels toward her husband, a soldier missing in action for three years.
"I had to play Ruby, because I was fascinated by her moral dilemma," Whalley says during a break in filming. "When does such a woman finally
give up hope? When does she decide to get on with her life? I just couldn't imagine how difficult that would be, so I had to find out." Whalley gazes out at the acres of grass. "It's been so easy th The Louisiana-born Flanery 34, who won raves for
his roles in the films "Powder" and "Suicide Kings," wanders by in dusty work clothes. He, too, jumped at the chance to do the Showtime movie. "These
days, anybody can call himself a screenwriter, and as a result most scripts are true excrement," he says. "But [Fields] is amazing, one of the most beautiful stories I've ever read."
Some considered it too beautiful, though. Paul Rauch executive producer of daytime TV's Guiding Light optioned the story for Fields eight years ago,
hoping to bring it to the big screen. "The studios considered it too soft," says Rauch. "The indie companies - because of the period recreation -
considered it too big. "The networks weren't interested, either, so Rauchand his produc The film, which is light on dialogue and full of steamy stolen glances, is a far cry from Scarlet. "That was
baptism by fire," Whalley says of the critically roasted "Gone With the Wind" sequel. "We shot seven straight months, and the end result was eight hours of me talking nonstop. By comparison, (Fields]
isa vacation. "Her kids, Mercedes, 8, and Jack, 5, from her marriage to ValKilmer, agree. Says Whalley: "They go swimming in a lake just up the
road. They're in there six hours at a time, squealing with delight!" More squeals emanate from the nearby barnyard, where, between takes,
Flanery and 11-year-old Alexa Vega ("The Deep End of the Ocean"), who plays Ruby's daughter, are having a worm-eating contest. Whalley grins at the creepy antics. 'No," she says, laughing, "this would
never happen on a soundstage."
rowing ourselves into a simpler time and place," says the actress, who lives in Los Angeles. "We feel the
breeze, hear the fields rustling, smell the earth, and we're there. We're not trying to fake it on a soundstage."
ing partner, Paul A. Kaufman (who directed the
movie), struck a cable deal. "There is a great fear at the networks that if a movie doesn't have a cliff-hanger for each commercial, viewers start surfing," Kaufman says. "But Showtime loved that
(Fields) was so gentle and old fashioned. They bought it right away. No hesitation."
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