This is a film about three oddly-matched people on a journey. They are strangers to each other, and they are quite strange. The film derives a lot of its early edge from the concern we have for the young girl who is in the company of two potentially dangerous and unstable men. Yellow Handkerchief opens in a cold prison where William Hurt's character says farewell to his fellow inmates. He is tough, hardened, and taciturn, a man well past middle age. As with any convict, you want to know what his crime was.
He takes a bus to a small Louisiana town. There, you get a visual suggestion that his crimes may have been sexual, as the camera shows a gathering of young people outside a restaurant. He drinks his first beer at this diner as we eavesdrop on the teens' conversations. We wonder if he is there to find prey or these young people are there by happenstance.
Hurt's flashbacks are many and frequent, and they begin in this dining room as he contemplates his first taste of beer in the first afternoon of his freedom.
A pretty 15-year-old girl, named Martine, is receiving much attention from two boys her age. Martine is played by 18-year-old Kirsten Stewart, who, in her short life, has appeared in a dozen films and collected half a dozen acting awards. We overhear Martine talking with the more handsome boy. She had been with him the night before, and we hear bits of conversation which sound like the boy may have taken advantage of her. Martine is on her cellphone with her father with whom we learn she has a stormy relationship. He is a thousand miles away on business, and she lies to him about where she is.
A goofy-looking boy, named Gordy, seems to be in constant motion. Gordy is smitten by Martine's charms, and he appears to have no chance with her. He says odd things and speaks inappropriately. He is in and out of the dining room as Hurt sips his beer enjoying freedom. The goofy kid wants to buy throw-away cameras with expired dates. He claims he is native American, but he looks Anglo. He is a bit weird. Hurt would later explain Gordy's behavior to Martine: "He is young for his age." Gordy is played by Eddy Redmayne, who looks much younger than his 26 years. A fine British actor who appeared in "The Other Bolyn Girl," "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," and "The Good Shepherd," plays a misfit with serious emotional problems in this movie.
The goofy-boy, the pretty girl and the ex-con leave this small Louisiana town in Gordy's old convertible. Their destination is uncertain except that they head south. It was bad judgment in the extreme for Martine to go away with the two men. A romantic girl, she is strangely attracted to the ex-con who is three or four times her age. The journey proceeds in serendipitous and unpredictable ways.
Along the way, layers of our first impressions peel away as these three reveal much about themselves.
Critics have said that American films are about objects like cars, guns, houses, airplanes and ships, while European films are about people and relationships. In this poverty-saturated section of Louisiana, the only thing to see is the human interaction. Tension pulls us into this film because what we know about these characters makes us apprehensive. We are further drawn in by curiosity; we want to find out who these strangers are and why they are together at all. An odd coupling, not one is much like the other. As the drama unfolds, we learn more about each one and find reasons to like and admire them.
This is the kind of film that actors crave; they can strut their stuff and show their chops. William Hurt,one of America's finest actors, does not disappoint. The Oscar-winner's fellow travelers are excellent. Maria Bello has a supporting role which comes through Hurt's flashbacks. She plays another quirky, hard woman with a soft core.
This film is one of those fine dramas which was a risk for the producers. It was too good not to make, but it is a film that could tank at the box office because it does not feature car chases and gratuitous explosions. This is drama for intelligent people which probably deserves Oscar nominations but it could pass under the radar of film audiences and critics. Each year Hollywood sends us some rare gems that we must look to find. Great films go unnoticed and are unfairly ignored. A short list would include "Antwone Fisher," "My First Mister," "Life As A House," "What We Lost in the Fire" and "Finding Forester" - all deserving Oscar consideration in several categories, but lost in the shuffle at the end of the season. This might end up on the list of great films you never saw if you don't go see it.
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