RichmondBread

The movie was rather slow , even with decent actors. Around half way through, the obligatory Hallmark mixed race couple shows up. It's always unexpected and they work on you like that. I don't like being manipulated, and that's what it feels like. Aside from that, the script is also a downer. I didn't feel very enthused after watching. The only redeeming quality was the scenery and the country feel. However, as someone else mentioned, the lead actress seems very city girl type. I think this movie would have worked better with a different leading lady such as Lindy Booth , or Danicka McKellar. The leading actor was generic as most of them are.

So, why not just have it "take place" in Virginia? Obviously this movie's backdrop was unmistakably Virginia horse country. Such details should not be overlooked because while Virginia and Kentucky have many similarities, (as someone else pointed out), Kentucky bluegrass is not the same as Virginia horse country, nor is the same kind of intent and purpose. Virginia horse country trains and breeds horses, but not necessarily for the race track. Virginia horses are for the steeplechase or show horses, not race horses (save a few notables such as Secretariat). Both locales are very steeped in old South traditions- Virginia , even moreso!

The devil is in the details. I also can't accept Jessica Lange's attempt at a Southern accent, even though she faired okay in "Sweet Dreams" as Patsy Cline with her Appalachian lilt, her attempt as a more genteel Kentucky lady is way over the top. I don't mind how she looks in it, though. I wouldn't watch this movie, other than I actually thought it took place in Virginia and so that intrigued me, because everything was so recognizable. North Central Virginia including Charlottesville and Orange to be exact . Oh, well.

In context, I know there is a scene where she is pulled over for a traffic violation and the policeman is in disbelief of her age. She is all but 45... now if she was a 60 year old woman who looked as she did, I could see how that might make it more remarkable. I'm assuming that in time and space, in the 1950s when the scene is set, that someone in their mid 40s is practically old age for that time. However, I could place the lead actress anywhere between mid 30s and late 40s IMHO. I had to bring this up because it's a pivotal scene that is highlighted. It just struck me as odd - who ages rapidly between 29 and 45? Perhaps some but not all.