OLD MAN exhibits weather-beaten grit and heartland pride in its enriching fable of a convict's voyage from incarceration to inner freedom. Despite a certain languor around the edges, this TV-movie adaptation of a William Faulkner story (which comprised half of the novel
The Wild Palms) is
well acted and sensitively crafted.
When the Mississippi Rver overflows its banks in the 1920s, the devastation is so great that some prisoners are granted short-term leave to help rescue efforts. Among them is J.J. Taylor (Arliss Howard), near the end of a 19-year sentence for train robbery. Taylor is assigned to sail a skiff to
rescue Addie Rebecca Brice (Jeanne Tripp...
Released:
1997
Rated:
PG
Length:
98 mins