Very dated stereotypes...

Rating: 5/10 (1 December 2007)

This film was horribly heavy-handed with plenty of the typical old-fashioned stereotypes to go around. Many directors believe situations and characters have to be played and portrayed off of the scale to get their agenda across to the audience. This is a perfect example. This film would have been much more realistic and believable had it been set in any time period before the 1970s. Ideally, this would have made a great film to have been set in the 1960s or the '50s. With the talent and performances in this picture, I would have then rated it an easy 8 or maybe a 9. But, because of the director's treatment of racism, it was hard to swallow as legitimate just because it was way over the top. Sure, there are still race and class bigots and issues out there, but they are a little more subdued in this day and age due to a cultural zero tolerance attitude towards racism. This is one of those films where I hear the usual "could have been much better" ringing in my ears. Great acting, good screenplay, mediocre (at best) direction. Too bad. Chalk this up as ANOTHER undeserving Oscar winner, and there have been a few in the last twenty years. Not that an Academy Award means anything anyway!