Main Street

 Main Street 2010

• Director: John Doyle
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Colin Firth, Ellen Burstyn, Patricia Clarkson, Orlando Bloom, Amber Tamblyn, Margo Martindale
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Colin Firth – The Secret Garden, 1917, Mamma Mia 1+2, Genius, Before I Go to Sleep, The Railway Man, Tinker Tailor, The King’s Speech, Kick Ass Girls St Trinian’s 2, Genova, Then She Found Me, Love Actually, Girl with Pearl Earring, Shakespeare in Love, A Thousand Acres, The English Patient, Pride and Prejudice, Circle of Friends
• Ellen Burstyn – Walking across Egypt, Interstellar, The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Requiem for a Dream, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, The King of Marvin Gardens, The Last Picture Show
• Patricia Clarkson – Maze Runner etc, The Bookshop, Learning to Drive, Shutter Island, Lars and the Real Girl Good Night and Good Luck, Six Feet Under, Dogville, Station Agent, Far from Heaven, The Green Mile
• Orlando Bloom – Pirates of the Caribbean etc, The Hobbit etc, Extras, Kingdom of Heaven, Ned Kelly, Wilde
• Margo Martindale – many films
• Why? The cast
• Seen: 28 August 2022      

       Durham, North Carolina, is dying. High unemployment, closed businesses, delayed building projects flagging interest in community activities.

       Enter wheelin’ dealin’ smooth-talkin’ Texan Gus Leroy (Firth), offering the town endless benefits if they’ll let him build a hazardous waste disposal plant.

       Those who hate the film object to Firth’s dreadful Texas accent (I have no opinion, all Southern US drawl sounds the same to me) and its ‘liberal’ message, which in Europe means right-wing but, in the US, practically means communist. They also seem to think that hazardous waste disposal is fake news.

       My objections are as follows: 1) The clichés. 2) Burstyn’s weepy/smiley aging southern belle. 3) The pointless side stories of young (and middle-aged) romance. 4) The film, despite its strong cast and still vitally important subject, is a weak attempt to deal with this ongoing environmental risk.

       A pity. 

2 * of 5