MovieChat Forums > Ulee's Gold (1997) Discussion > Great writing, superbly acted.

Great writing, superbly acted.

posted 17 years ago by Joshf84
4 replies | jump to latest

What a great film! I found myself completely enthralled with the story line of one of the most well written films I have ever seen. I also thought the character depth was just exellent. Peter Fonda delivered one of the most subtly powerful performances I have ever seen. But I also thought that Patricia Richardson was great. Richardson who is mostly known for her years on "Home Improvement" is truly a great actress who was given a chance to really shine in her role. To me I personally thought one of the best performances in the film came from Christine Dunford. Dunford whom I have seen in a few other performances (mostly on television) was great as Ulee's drug addict daughter in law. I found myself compeletely mesmorized with her stunning performance. I enjoyed this more than I have enjoyed a film in a long time.

[–] mrmikeob 17 years ago

Yes, this is easily on my top 10, and almost no one I tell about it has heard of it. I haven't seen Fonda in anything else besides "Easy Rider," have to check some out now. But I don't think any of them could top this. Saw "Tupelo Honey" comeing a mile off in the credits when we saw it in the theater - nice touch.

Another poster said Fonda was "wooden" at the beginning of the film. I completely disagree. Ulee was just a man who was full of pride and had been through a lot (Vietnam, etc.), so any display of emotion would have been out of character. He had it spot-on all the way through.

Ditto on being disappointed he didn't get the Oscar nod, but I didn't see "As Good As It Gets," so maybe that disqualifies me!

[–] MrDKillian 17 years ago

Jack Nicholson did a great job in As Good As It Gets but as as I'm concerned Peter Fonda's was FAR better. It was like comparing a JV team to varsity team and I think Peter should have won.

[–] skippy2235 15 years ago

I agree with the last post. No matter how many times I've seen this movie, I am struck by how great Peter Fonda is. It is a quiet performance that is just amazing.

[–] MrsC2007 13 years ago

Fonda definitely did deserve the Oscar for this and I was so disappointed when he did not win. I remember in the run up to Oscar night many in the movie press saying he deserved to win for Ulee but feared that Nicholson would get the nod yet again. Both Nicholson and Fonda won Golden Globes that year so it was definitely close as to who would win. It should have been Fonda, hands down.