Starts off with a bunch of old farts playing golf and ends with a bunch of old farts playing golf. And in-between is the dullest, most tedious movie I do believe has ever been made. I don't care if John Sayles DID do it (and I'm generally a fan), this movie is LONG and BORING.
shareLike most posters, I wanted to like this movie too, but it was a tad bit too boring. Generally I am a fan of the actors that appeared in it.
shareWell, I enjoyed it because of its subtleties and symbolism, but that's not something that draws in the average moviegoer. And even with that, it ultimately didn't pull together all of its threads into anything cohesive. In the end it seems like too many stories and not enough of any of them. Kind of a Robert Altman movie with more traditional dialogue. Worth watching once, but I won't be going back.
shareI loved this movie but admitedly, it's not for everyone. Not much "happens" but it's a classic John Sayles film: plot and history are slowly revealed through dialog between multi-dimensional and interesting characters. And it's REAL. The developers aren't all evil bad guys and the residents aren't all noble. This movie is subtle! It doesn't spell it all out for you but if you watch and listen, you get it. Watch Mary Steenburgen's expression change as she tries to keep smiling during the closing of the festival. Many more moments like this, and Tim Hutton's quiet performance is great. Highly recommended...for John Sayles fans.
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I agree. It was very slow but I did enjoy seeing Edie Falco. While the movie was really not all that interesting, her performance was spot on and highly underrated.
-We are all of us in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars
While I don't have as extreme a reaction to the film, I do feel like I'm not motivated to care for the characters or situations as much as I'd like to. I'm also a John Sayles fan, and the pauses and tonal choices that worked in a movie like "Passion Fish" don't really work here, despite the fact that this cast is terrific.
I'm all for a loose structure in a narrative (I love "Nashville" and other Altman films), but in this case, there lacks a gravitas in the structure of the plot that elevates it beyond scene after scene of subtle, but repetitious quirks and moments, along with so much verbal exposition on the region, the people, etc. etc. etc. It's not a slice-of-life Sayles gives us here, it's the whole chunk.
I think of "Sunshine State" as an exercise in technique without urgency. It's not a bad thing, but it doesn't work all of the time (also see "Gettysburg").
Walter_Sleeth: "Starts off with a bunch of old farts playing golf and ends with a bunch of old farts playing golf. And in-between is the dullest, most tedious movie I do believe has ever been made. I don't care if John Sayles DID do it (and I'm generally a fan), this movie is LONG and BORING."
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DITTO!
Continue not to like it. I loved it. So did the critics.
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It's long but I'm glad I saw it.
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