Rambling Rose (1991)

Great Movie

This movie is set in my hometown area. It is quite believable from the setting point of view. Good performances. November 10, 2008

Dern grounds the film the best she can...

As a whole, `Rambling Rose' is a little too heavy handed, so much so that it comes off kind of hokey. The ending is a little overdone and the character development is a little weak, but in the end I can't say that it is a waste of time or necessarily a bad film, it just doesn't warrant all the praise it has received over the years. As an acting showcase it delivers to an extent, and as a moving period drama it works to an extent, so as an entertaining film it works to an extent.

In other words; there are things to like here but not enough to really make the film complete.

The film tells the story of a young woman named Rose who moves in with the Hillyer family during the 1930's. She's a flamboyant and uncontrollable force why comes to serve as maid and housekeeper to the family in order to spare her a life of debauchery. Her story is told through the eyes of Buddy, now an adult, who was but a young boy when Rose first moved into his home. Rose, a very sensual and tantalizing woman, immediately takes a liking to Mr. Hillyer while young Buddy takes his own liking to Rose. The film follows Rose and her escapades with the law and with boys and chronicles her confrontations with Mr. Hillyer over her actions. She is a very unorthodox woman who uses her body instead of her mind to attract the attention of others, but her kind heart makes her genuine and hard to rally up against.

The film sports a very fine performance by Laura Dern, who manages to make Rose a character we can not only fantasize about but also sympathize with. She grasps Rose's sensuality without every allowing it to overshadow her genuine nature. We see her heart before we see her body. Robert Duvall also gives a splendid performance as the man of the house, matching Dern's nature with his rugged charm. It's easy to see why she admires and even desires him, and it's wonderful to see him combat that desire. Diane Ladd is highly overpraised for her performance; a performance that isn't `bad' but is far from award worthy. Her final speech at the doctor's office is so overdone and heavy that it brings the entire film down a notch.

Lukas Haas (of `Witness' fame) delivers a fine performance as the young Buddy, expressing both Buddy's budding curiosity as well as his restrained maturity. The scenes he shares with Dern are especially excellent (albeit a tad uncomfortable).

In the end though, this movie lives and dies on Dern's shoulders, and she carries it mighty fine for the most part. Her dynamic performance cannot save the film from it's own heavy hand, but at least the movie doesn't make light of the subject; it just spills over into over-dramatizing something that should feel natural and effecting but ends up coming off more forced and unrealistic. Dern is a gem though, and her performance alone makes the film worth seeing at least once. August 29, 2008

Looking for love in all the wrong places

Rambling Rose is an absorbing, highly nuanced portrait of a young woman looking for love in all the wrong places. When Rose tells Buddy her secret that "girls don't want sex, they want love," it seems at the same time hackneyed and yet utterly, piercingly true. Rose is a classic Infernal Woman trailing calamity in her wake, but one who really does love everybody: man and woman, boy and girl. I felt considerable sympathy for her, even though I was oh! so glad that Daddy managed to stand firm. Thermopylae and the Persians: that will be my personal mantra in the face of temptation from now on.

Some reviewers have tried to paint this movie as a case study of Patriarchal Society trying to Inhibit Female Sexuality. The reality in the movie (as in life) is not so simple: a probable victim of incest as a girl and then orphaned, Rose is heartbreakingly genuine as she searches (however ineffectually) for the things that have so far eluded her: parental love, familial belonging, love for her as herself and not for what can be found between her legs. In contrast, the Hillyer family (in particular, the honest, tender relationship between the parents), shows what love, belonging, and trust are made of. Mr and Mrs Hillyer each grasps a significant, but contradictory, truth about Rose; it is their love and respect for each other that limits Rose's capacity to damage the family.

Laura Dern is magnificently compelling, even enchanting, as Rose. Robert Duvall's Daddy embodies the charm and complexity of a southern gentleman who loves his family, yet who unwittingly encourages Rose in her path to disaster. Diane Ladd portrays Mother as a strong-willed, generous southern matron who knows herself, knows her place in the family, and exercises both fully. Lukas Haas is splendid as a boy taking the first steps on his journey to manhood. The only point on which I agree with Amazon reviewer 'geminiwalker' is discomfort with the sex scene between the very young Lukas Haas (a 14 or 15-year-old playing a 13-year-old) and Laura Dern. It was uncomfortable enough to watch; I do hope somebody was watching closely for the interests of the underage Mr. Haas in the filming.

February 9, 2008

Excellent film that shows Feminism in the South during the Nadir

First, Marshall Fine (the opening review) must smoke crack. This film is a very good depiction of the relationships between women in the deep South.



This film is set in the 1930s South where the widespread opression of women and African Americans sets the context. Women are generally expected to be domestic angels or whores. This film explores the middle-ground and shows how some women did have power in an era (and region) where they were considered powerless. It also shows how the whore stereotype arose-at least in the case of one woman.



Rose is a young woman with a long history of sexual abuse. As a result, she confuses sexual activity with love. Therefore, she is sexually promiscuous. Rose enters the Hillyard family as a domestic servant to escape being forced into prostitution-the details of which are never explained. Chaos then ensues as Rose struggles to find love in all the wrong places and ways. Her frantic quest for love will cause her to take risks with her job, body and life. Meantime, Mrs. Hilyard (Diane Lane) is working on her doctoral dissertation, and even though struggling with hearing loss, the family matriarch. She becomes Rose's greatest protector and in the end, stands up for Rose when she is nearly destroyed by men who have ulterior motives. The relationship that develops between this unlikely duo-a patrician woman with a high education and a young uneducated girl coming from an alleged "dirt farm" is at the heart of this film.



Diane Lane and Robert Duvall give excellent performances capturing their roles with an ease that only accompanies an experienced actor. Laura Dern, however, is a bit miscast as Rose. Hers is a role that Elizabeth Taylor would have "ate-up" in her prime. But Dern really struggles to make Rose believable. She often seems gangly and uncoordinated when she is supposed to be sensusal. Her southern accent sometimes sounds forced, and her bodily movements are awkward (note the scene where she attempts to walk down the street in heels!". Still, she rises to the occasion in several key scenes. Meantime, the children-particularly Luke Haas-perform admirably. That cannot often be said about child actors. All-in-all, this is a very good film about a subject that touches us all: the universal quest for love. June 18, 2007

Whose body is it, anyway?

Another movie that kept me on the edge of my seat. I originally was intrigued my Lukas Haas, of whom I have been a fan since "Witness." The theme of "unbridled female sexuality" and how it was often "handled" in more primitive times is unsettling, as it should be. The concept of a woman not owning her own body is one our society continues to struggle with, and it is a tribute to Laura Dern's integrity that she was willing to take on a film that made such a statement - the footprint of a career that continues that work.

I am uncomfortable with the sexuality beteen Haas and Dern, in spite of the Rose's endearing remorse. Again, is sex between adult and child something we want to continue to normalize in a culture that claims concern for the safety of children? Or is art beyond that kind of responsiblity? I wish I knew. It's a powerful question, though.

And we wonder why our young actors end up in trouble.

Witness (Special Collector's Edition) May 13, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...