Word: ritt
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Directed by Martin Ritt...
...Ritt's strength has never been humor, but he does understand what Field's forte is, namely, a sort of plucky vulnerability. Even when she is talking tough and acting brazen, there is an openness in her smile, an irreducible innocence in her large round eyes, that disarms the crankiest spirit. She is ably supported by Tommy Lee Jones, doing another of his backwoods lunks. Familiarity has bred a certain agreeable expertise in him, a goofy nobility that wears well...
Whether or not performance is enough to overcome a script that is uninventively repetitive about these characters and the situations they encounter along the way is problematic. Ritt's direction is plodding when it is not obvious. It lacks the romantic lift that this film needs. Luckily, Field has the spunk and sass to redeem Back Roads just as she did Ritt's Norma Rae two years ago. He should never leave home without...