Late, great country singer Johnny Cash gives a sturdy and strikingly effective performance as Jesse Hallam, a poor and illiterate, but proud and willful Kentucky coal miner who's forced to sell his house and move to Cincinatti so his ailing daughter can get a spinal operation. Hallam has difficulty both finding a job and adjusting to the hectic pace of big city life due to his inability to read and write. Hallam soon realizes that he's going to have to become literate in order to succeed in the city.
Capably directed with praiseworthy tact and sensitivity by Gary Nelson, with a thoughtful script by Suzanne Clauser, sharp, pretty cinematography by Gayne Rescher, and a lulling, folksy, harmonic country score by Cash and Alan Shapiro (Cash also sings a few catchy, lively songs on the soundtrack), this fine film addresses the serious and troubling issue of illiteracy in a moving and compelling way. Cash's terrific portrayal of Hallam effortlessly carries the picture; he brings a craggy grace and stubborn dignity to the role that's credible, commanding and even quite affecting (the scene where Hallam haltingly reads to his daughter in the hospital is extremely touching). The strong supporting turns by Eli Wallach as a fiery, excitable warehouse owner who hires Hallam to work for him, Brenda Vaccaro as a compassionate high school vice principal who becomes Hallam's mentor, Ben Marley as Hallam's surly, estranged, equally unlettered teenage son, Chrystal Smith as Hallam's sickly daughter, and Guy Boyd as an unsympathetic cop are all on the money as well. An excellent, engrossing and ultimately uplifting movie.
Capably directed with praiseworthy tact and sensitivity by Gary Nelson, with a thoughtful script by Suzanne Clauser, sharp, pretty cinematography by Gayne Rescher, and a lulling, folksy, harmonic country score by Cash and Alan Shapiro (Cash also sings a few catchy, lively songs on the soundtrack), this fine film addresses the serious and troubling issue of illiteracy in a moving and compelling way. Cash's terrific portrayal of Hallam effortlessly carries the picture; he brings a craggy grace and stubborn dignity to the role that's credible, commanding and even quite affecting (the scene where Hallam haltingly reads to his daughter in the hospital is extremely touching). The strong supporting turns by Eli Wallach as a fiery, excitable warehouse owner who hires Hallam to work for him, Brenda Vaccaro as a compassionate high school vice principal who becomes Hallam's mentor, Ben Marley as Hallam's surly, estranged, equally unlettered teenage son, Chrystal Smith as Hallam's sickly daughter, and Guy Boyd as an unsympathetic cop are all on the money as well. An excellent, engrossing and ultimately uplifting movie.