A heavy serving of period melodrama, John Patrick Kelley's "The Locusts" is an oppressive tale of temptation and redemption in rural Kansas.
Bordering perilously on camp, the material -- about a mysterious Young Buck (Vince Vaughn) who wanders onto the cattle ranch of an insatiable widow (Kate Capshaw) -- could have benefited from a lighter, less purposeful directorial touch.
As it is, with a determined, languorous pace that feels all of its 124-minute running time and then some, "Locusts" won't be drawing any swarms at the boxoffice. The sound of crickets is probably a more apt situation.
Drifting into the early 1960s farming town with the nonchalant bravado of a guy who's seen "Giant" too many times, Clay Hewitt (Vaughn), quickly raises the ire of the local bully (Daniel Meyer), not to mention the eyebrows of his intrigued girlfriend, the free-spirited Kitty (Ashley Judd).
With a mysterious past and few prospects, Clay manages to secure lodging and work at the feed ranch owned by the predatory Mrs. Potts (Capshaw), a boozy manipulator who's a sucker for a sweaty T-shirt.
In between warding off her persistent advances, Clay cottons to Mrs. Potts' neglected, emotionally traumatized son, Flyboy (Jeremy Davies), who has been in something of a semi-catatonic trance since the suicide of his father years earlier.
The two form a fast friendship, enabling Flyboy to partially emerge from his crippling shell while Clay latches on to a little nurturing purpose in his own aimless existence.
Fresh from "The Lost World" and "Swingers", Vaughn plays it all with a pout and a swagger; Capshaw seldom strays from a gin-soaked weariness. Only Davies ("Spanking the Monkey") manages to create something more three-dimensionally affecting as the emotionally damaged Flyboy, bringing to mind a young, pre-"Psycho" Anthony Perkins. Judd, too, given a much smaller role, generates a spirited spark as the supportive Kitty.
As a writer, Kelley is unafraid to pour on all the intrigue in generous, incest-tinged dollops, but he then attempts to balance the dirt with equal servings of heart-tugging poignance.
It's a daunting equation that never adds up.
As a director, it's clear Kelley has seen Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven" more than once, judging by the attention he pays to measured pacing and sun-kissed vistas.
Kelley is ably assisted in that end by director of photography Phedon Papamichael's vivid outdoor photography and Sherman Williams' artful, peeled-paint production design, not to mention the unhurried editing
THE LOCUSTS
MGM
Orion Pictures presents
A Brad Krevoy & Steve Stabler production
A film by John Patrick Kelley
Director-screenwriter John Patrick Kelley
Producers Brad Krevoy,
Steve Stabler,
Bradley Thomas
Director of photography Phedon Papamichael
Production designer Sherman Williams
Editors Kathryn Himoff,
Erica Flaum
Executive producers Adam Duritz,
Beth Holden,
Charles B. Wessler,
Cynthia Guidry
Costume designer Gail McMullen
Music Carter Burwell
Music supervisor Happy Walters
Color/stereo
Cast:
Mrs. Potts Kate Capshaw
Flyboy Jeremy Davies
Clay Hewitt Vince Vaughn
Kitty Ashley Judd
Earl Paul Rudd
Joel Daniel Meyer
Patsy Jessica Capshaw
Running time - 124 minutes
MPAA Rating: R...
Bordering perilously on camp, the material -- about a mysterious Young Buck (Vince Vaughn) who wanders onto the cattle ranch of an insatiable widow (Kate Capshaw) -- could have benefited from a lighter, less purposeful directorial touch.
As it is, with a determined, languorous pace that feels all of its 124-minute running time and then some, "Locusts" won't be drawing any swarms at the boxoffice. The sound of crickets is probably a more apt situation.
Drifting into the early 1960s farming town with the nonchalant bravado of a guy who's seen "Giant" too many times, Clay Hewitt (Vaughn), quickly raises the ire of the local bully (Daniel Meyer), not to mention the eyebrows of his intrigued girlfriend, the free-spirited Kitty (Ashley Judd).
With a mysterious past and few prospects, Clay manages to secure lodging and work at the feed ranch owned by the predatory Mrs. Potts (Capshaw), a boozy manipulator who's a sucker for a sweaty T-shirt.
In between warding off her persistent advances, Clay cottons to Mrs. Potts' neglected, emotionally traumatized son, Flyboy (Jeremy Davies), who has been in something of a semi-catatonic trance since the suicide of his father years earlier.
The two form a fast friendship, enabling Flyboy to partially emerge from his crippling shell while Clay latches on to a little nurturing purpose in his own aimless existence.
Fresh from "The Lost World" and "Swingers", Vaughn plays it all with a pout and a swagger; Capshaw seldom strays from a gin-soaked weariness. Only Davies ("Spanking the Monkey") manages to create something more three-dimensionally affecting as the emotionally damaged Flyboy, bringing to mind a young, pre-"Psycho" Anthony Perkins. Judd, too, given a much smaller role, generates a spirited spark as the supportive Kitty.
As a writer, Kelley is unafraid to pour on all the intrigue in generous, incest-tinged dollops, but he then attempts to balance the dirt with equal servings of heart-tugging poignance.
It's a daunting equation that never adds up.
As a director, it's clear Kelley has seen Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven" more than once, judging by the attention he pays to measured pacing and sun-kissed vistas.
Kelley is ably assisted in that end by director of photography Phedon Papamichael's vivid outdoor photography and Sherman Williams' artful, peeled-paint production design, not to mention the unhurried editing
THE LOCUSTS
MGM
Orion Pictures presents
A Brad Krevoy & Steve Stabler production
A film by John Patrick Kelley
Director-screenwriter John Patrick Kelley
Producers Brad Krevoy,
Steve Stabler,
Bradley Thomas
Director of photography Phedon Papamichael
Production designer Sherman Williams
Editors Kathryn Himoff,
Erica Flaum
Executive producers Adam Duritz,
Beth Holden,
Charles B. Wessler,
Cynthia Guidry
Costume designer Gail McMullen
Music Carter Burwell
Music supervisor Happy Walters
Color/stereo
Cast:
Mrs. Potts Kate Capshaw
Flyboy Jeremy Davies
Clay Hewitt Vince Vaughn
Kitty Ashley Judd
Earl Paul Rudd
Joel Daniel Meyer
Patsy Jessica Capshaw
Running time - 124 minutes
MPAA Rating: R...
- 10/3/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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