Nicely done yet somewhat bleak story
reteip | 11/10/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
"A cruel man (Tommy Lee Jones) has a habit of furtively seeking "vengeance" on those he considers to have treated him unfairly, often burns their barns to conclude the feuds. His son Sarty (Shawn Whittington), roughly fifteen, is morally opposed to such actions but also desires his dad's acceptance. In the end, the lad must pick between his conscience and family. Which will it be? A nicely done yet somewhat bleak story based on the William Faulkner short."
Helps visualize the story, but kids may fall asleep
LA Teacher | CA | 08/22/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The film is approx. 40 minutes and does a decent job of putting Faulkner's work on screen. Some of the stream-of-consciousness is conveyed through voice-overs, which may provide a good talking point with students.
Tommy Lee Jones is a perfect Abner Snipes, in fact, I don't think I could picture him any other way.
The downside is that it is rather boring, though I truly don't know how it could be spiced up, since it does stay true to the story.
I plan to show it intermittently as we read the text, as students really struggle with it. I do believe it will be helpful."
JUST READ THE STORY
T. Bellows | 05/17/2007
(2 out of 5 stars)
"My opinion:
My class agreed that this didn't capture the power of the actual short story. That may be impossible to do, actually. Somehow the film lacks the depth and charged darkness of the text."