The beginning of the movie is set in the 1950s and 1960s, a time I am very familiar with. I grew up then and finished school. The movie very accurately depicted that period. It was a time when women were still mostly in the background, raising children and cooking meals, and to challenge the husband was rarely done.
Julianne Moore is Evelyn Ryan, somewhat a saint of a mother who raised 10 children while her husband Kelly (Woody Harrelson) with a low self-image exhausted the family income via booze. They often had no money to pay the milk man, but Evelyn always seemed to find some joy in the moment. And she never admonished Kelly for his drinking.
Evelyn's great talent was winning various contests. And not just the local ones, sometimes even big national ones worth thousands of dollars. Many times it was these winnings which enabled them to stay in their home.
One of the children was 'Tuff' Ryan, one of the girls, who grew up to be the author of the book this movie is based on. In fact, all of the 10 children grew up to make something of themselves. In a key scene Evelyn tells Tuff that she has a wonderful mind and can accomplish anything she wants. Since Tuff is the author, we must assume its accuracy. But beyond that, I can relate. It was 1961 and one of my teachers told be just about the same thing and I recall that it changed my whole outlook. It was the first time anyone had told me that, and the first time I believed I could accomplish anything I set my mind to. We never know when the words we speak to children will have that same effect. Or, the opposite with ill-chosen words.
We saw this on DVD. Near the end, a scene includes the real Ryan children, all in their 40s and 50s. And we see the mom character (Moore) sitting next to the real Tuff, and kissing her on the cheek. A superb ending for a wonderful movie of an inspiring story.
Julianne Moore is Evelyn Ryan, somewhat a saint of a mother who raised 10 children while her husband Kelly (Woody Harrelson) with a low self-image exhausted the family income via booze. They often had no money to pay the milk man, but Evelyn always seemed to find some joy in the moment. And she never admonished Kelly for his drinking.
Evelyn's great talent was winning various contests. And not just the local ones, sometimes even big national ones worth thousands of dollars. Many times it was these winnings which enabled them to stay in their home.
One of the children was 'Tuff' Ryan, one of the girls, who grew up to be the author of the book this movie is based on. In fact, all of the 10 children grew up to make something of themselves. In a key scene Evelyn tells Tuff that she has a wonderful mind and can accomplish anything she wants. Since Tuff is the author, we must assume its accuracy. But beyond that, I can relate. It was 1961 and one of my teachers told be just about the same thing and I recall that it changed my whole outlook. It was the first time anyone had told me that, and the first time I believed I could accomplish anything I set my mind to. We never know when the words we speak to children will have that same effect. Or, the opposite with ill-chosen words.
We saw this on DVD. Near the end, a scene includes the real Ryan children, all in their 40s and 50s. And we see the mom character (Moore) sitting next to the real Tuff, and kissing her on the cheek. A superb ending for a wonderful movie of an inspiring story.