Jayne Mansfield's Car

People who have bottled up emotions for decades or have barely been introduced open up remarkably quickly in the course of just a couple of days in this incisive, well-acted, if unlikely multi-character drama reminiscent of Robert Altman.

It comes as a shock to realise the 1960's were now so long ago that elderly patriarchs Robert Duvall and John Hurt both served in The Great War (as Hurt calls it) and the emotional baggage their particular generation is carrying gives them more in common with each other than with their then still relatively young offspring (now ironically revered as the Greatest Generation) than their accents divide them.

The misleading title refers to a minor plot thread; and you'll have watch the film to find out what prompts Frances O'Connor (in a scene worthy of Russ Meyer) at one point into sportingly reciting 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' nude.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The characters were fleshed out and I felt the pain and joy of each one. The attention to detail as far as representing 1969 gave me a flashback. I have always loved the leads, Robert Duvall, Kevin Bacon and Billy Bob Thornton, but I think this was an exceptional portrayal by each person. The Brits, John Hurt and his children were also played with such passion. The statement this movie made about war and marijuana use were not in your face, but makes you think and that is not a bad thing. The music was exceptionally well made. Set in a beautiful home and beautiful scenery did not hurt in any way!

Terrible script, awful directing, excruciatingly sloooowwww and has nothing to offer but pain, misery, awkwardness, suffering and stupidity.

The editor should be banned from the business and Billy Bob... please, stop... just stop. Stick to acting.

I call this an actors movie because it's all about actors trying to impress other actors. They obviously didn't make it for entertainment value. It wasn't made for the movie-going public. Its sole purpose is to be an Oscar vehicle for B.B. Thornton.

Sorry Billy Bob.... I'm not a voting member of the Academy. If I were, I would have to give you a thumbs down for blatant pandering to your professional colleagues while ignoring the ticket-buying public.

It's 1969 Morrison, Alabama. The Caldwell clan has 3 brothers Skip (Billy Bob Thornton), Carroll (Kevin Bacon), Jimbo (Robert Patrick), sister Donna (Katherine LaNasa), and patriarch Jim (Robert Duvall). The men are all veterans of various wars. When Jim's ex-wife and mother to the 'kids' die, her present husband Kingsley Bedford (John Hurt) and the Bedford family Phillip Bedford (Ray Stevenson), Camilla Bedford (Frances O'Connor) comes over from London to bury her back home in Alabama. The two families try to deal with the estranged relationships against a backdrop of volatile outside world of Vietnam and inner worlds. Jim is fascinated with car crashes. When a nearby town has a side show displaying Jayne Mansfield's car that she died in, Jim Caldwell takes Kingsley Bedford along for a look.

This movie is jam packed with great actors but they keep getting into each other's way. Writer/director Billy Bob Thornton lets this assemble of talents go off on their own and loses any structure or narrative. There is a lack of clarity. It needs to tell us clearly that the kids aren't actually related early and often. There is also a plodding pace to it all. They are moseying along and every once in awhile, there is an amazing scene between some of these great actors. The movie is just too uneven with the splintered groups garnering different levels of interest.

"Jayne Mansfield's Car" is one of the strangest and most difficult to review films I have seen. To say it is uneven is a great understatement...but after completing it, I'm glad I did and think it's a decent film in many ways.

The story is set in the Southern United States in 1969. The plot is about two families coming together after the death of someone dear to them, though the underlying theme which comes to a head by the end of the film is Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and the scars of war on several generations of the two families.

This is a movie that really makes you want to turn it off after the first 10-15 minutes. This is because all of the characters are so incredibly crude, trashy and unlikable. I really think the movie would have worked better had they made these folk a bit less extreme....though through the course of the movie you do come to like and respect them more (which isn't hard!). My advice is stick with the film....it does get better.

So why would I give a 7 to a film with such awful and trashy characters? Well, the biggest reason is that the acting is so incredibly good...as you'd expect with Robert Duvall, John Hurt and Billy Bob Thornton. Plus, while the characters (particularly the one played by Duvall) are terrible in many ways, they do become more fully fleshed out and complex as the story progresses.