Nobody's Fool (2003, DVD)

Both the original novel and the screenplay was writte4n by Pullitzer Prize winner "Richard Russo" (Empire Falls, Bridge of Sighs)so that well defined characters, a superb plot and a realistic setting began on paper. From that point, the finest performers out there were placed into the hands of master director and writer, Robert Benton to create this brilliant film. In a forgotten upstate New York town, Sully (Newman) is approaching retirement in a life that was based on labor that has left him with a destroyed knee, destroyed marriage and an estranged relationship with his son. He rents a room from an old woman who lives alone in a large house that used to be the Grand Dame of the town in years past. The house and street, like the woman herself (played remarkably by Jessica Tandy in her final acting performance)have become worn out, sagging along the roof lines and a street sprinkled with large trees in various stages of dying; a metaphor that isn't lost on anyone. Outstanding performances by Bruce Willis, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Melanie Griffith, and Josef Sommers are just a few of the performances that create a world into which we become lost for a period of 108 minutes. Benton and cinematographer John Bailey have captured the gray bleak winter of upstate New York and both this ambiance and the town itself (like the Street mentioned before) become a character entity all on it's own.
Paul Newman was nominated and won multiple acting awards for this role and many would say that the role suited him, thinking that this is how acting works, but instead, Newman was given a rare opportunity in Hollywood: the chance to perform a character that was so well defined and so flawlessly written and directed that an Oscar nod was guaranteed at the first table read.(It is interested that Newman would later play a supporting role in Russo's next film, "Empire Falls" for HBO Films). An actor of Newman's quality combined with all of the elements attached to this film create a vehicle for Newman that allows him to stand out along with a cast whose awarded hardware would more than fill the back of a pick-up truck. If you've seen the film only one or if you've not seen the film, it's time to rent or buy it. I decided that owning this film was the way to go because it gives more each time. As a portion of the script says:

Peter: It's not gonna be easy being you, is it?
Sully: Don't expect much from yourself in the beginning. I couldn't do everything at first, either.

thank you to the one time production company who managed to create magic for all history during the winter of 1993 whi8le filming and growing close in an experience that must have been beyond remarkable because the result, an outsiders look really, is a film that is only allowed a rating as high as five stars or superior excellence, when in fact there is no room to comment on how this motion picture will touch your heart, connect to your own life and change you for ever.

A Great Classic!! I really enjoyed this for the second time, well worth watching !! It is a nice addition to any movie library, something you can watch over and over...