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Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)
Director: Randa Haines
Writer: Steve Conrad
Cast: Robert Duvall, Richard Harris, Shirley MacLaine, Sandra Bullock, Piper Laurie
Genre: Drama, Romance
An old cantankerous and hard-drinking Irishman (Richard Harris) who once was a sea captain, finds himself in a small apartment building run by Helen (Shirley MacLaine). To escape the heat of his broken air conditioning unit he spends his days in the park by the lake. There he meets a dawdling but, well-mannered Cuban American ex barber (Robert Duvall) who spends his days sitting on a park bench doing crossroad puzzles...and visiting the local cafe to talk to a friendly waitress, (Sandra Bullock).
I liked it. It reminded of Harry and Tonto or The Straight Line. I won't say it was that good but the first half of the movie was pretty interesting. The film loses some of it's edginess towards the end, but still there's enough themes being explored here for the viewer who enjoys learning more about the human condition.
As a bonus you get to see a lot of Florida and some well respected actors too. The music score was too much of the 'it's wonderful feeling' sound, the type of score Spielberg often uses. But ignore the overblown score and enjoy the acting and the story.
Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)
Writer: Steve Conrad
Cast: Robert Duvall, Richard Harris, Shirley MacLaine, Sandra Bullock, Piper Laurie
Genre: Drama, Romance
An old cantankerous and hard-drinking Irishman (Richard Harris) who once was a sea captain, finds himself in a small apartment building run by Helen (Shirley MacLaine). To escape the heat of his broken air conditioning unit he spends his days in the park by the lake. There he meets a dawdling but, well-mannered Cuban American ex barber (Robert Duvall) who spends his days sitting on a park bench doing crossroad puzzles...and visiting the local cafe to talk to a friendly waitress, (Sandra Bullock).
I liked it. It reminded of Harry and Tonto or The Straight Line. I won't say it was that good but the first half of the movie was pretty interesting. The film loses some of it's edginess towards the end, but still there's enough themes being explored here for the viewer who enjoys learning more about the human condition.
As a bonus you get to see a lot of Florida and some well respected actors too. The music score was too much of the 'it's wonderful feeling' sound, the type of score Spielberg often uses. But ignore the overblown score and enjoy the acting and the story.