Honeydripper
Year: 2007
Director: John Sayles
Stars: Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Lisa Gay Hamilton
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Studio: Screen Media Films
Running Time: 126 Mins
Review Rating: 5 Stars
Official Website: http://www.honeydripper-movie.com/
Honeydripper is the latest films from two-time Academy Award Nominee, John Sayles, who has directed such films, as Lone Star, Silver City and Eight Men Out. His latest film is set in 1950 Alabama where an owner (Danny Glover) of failing nightclub known as the Honeydripper lounge is brings in the famous Uncle Sam to save his business. He soon meets, a young guitar player named Sonny (Gary Clark Jr.), who is looking for a job at his lounge. The owner then turns him down and soon after that, he is arrested for vagrancy, by a corrupt Sheriff (Stacy Keach). Things then start to go down hill for the owner, when he finds out that the act that was going to save his business, never showed at train station. Now the owner must find a way to get free Sonny, so his show can still go on and still have the chance to save his failing business. Honeydripper also co-stars Charles S. Dutton (A Time to Kill, Gothika), Lisa Gay Hamilton (TV’s The Practice, Jackie Brown), Sean Patrick Thomas (Save the Last Dance, Barbershop), and Mary Steenburgen (Philadelphia, Life as a House).
Even though, this film came out very late year, as it only played in two cities, I consider this to be one of the best films that I’ve seen this year, so far.
Honeydripper is a very entertaining and fascinating film. Writer/Director John Sayles does it again with this film. His direction of this film was great. Sayles does a great job capturing southern life in the 1950’s, as he gets a sense to what that time period was like. He does that by making sure that the sets that were used in the film resembled that time period. The sets are definitely an important thing in these period pieces, because if they don’t resemble it, then the setting of the film doesn’t work and so does the film. Another thing that Sayles made sure to get right was the music for that period. The music in the film was one of the film’s highlights. I liked how Sayles makes this a major point in the film, because the music here was very effective. He does that by hiring actual musician turned actor Gary Clark jr. Clark really does a good job brings the music to life, especially the number near the end of the film, which I won’t spoil.
The acting is this film was excellent. This film is the best performance from Danny Glover since the Lethal Weapon films. He brings a lot of dramatic charisma to the role, as the owner of the Honeydripper club, who haunted about the things that he did in the past. There are also some very good supporting performances from Stacy Keach as the sheriff, Charles S. Dutton, as Glover’s best friend and newcomer Gary Clark Jr.
Sayles’s screenplay was also very good. One of the things that he does well here was developing the story and its subplots. What makes a story and it subplots very good was the fact that the film had very interesting characters. One of the characters that I liked in the film was the blind guitar player. Sayles does a great job making the character, this mysterious mythical character that appears when thing look down for both Clark Jr. and Glover’s characters. He puts that character into the story because he brings the sort of wisdom that helps those characters stay on a path where they lives are starting to go downhill. Another thing that Sayles does well with this screenplay is to explore the racial tensions that happened during this time period. He uses that in one of the subplots, because he needed to in order to create that time period and sadly there was no way to avoid it.
Honeydripper is truly a memorable film with its great performance and it’s great music.
Even though, this film came out very late year, as it only played in two cities, I consider this to be one of the best films that I’ve seen this year, so far.
Honeydripper is a very entertaining and fascinating film. Writer/Director John Sayles does it again with this film. His direction of this film was great. Sayles does a great job capturing southern life in the 1950’s, as he gets a sense to what that time period was like. He does that by making sure that the sets that were used in the film resembled that time period. The sets are definitely an important thing in these period pieces, because if they don’t resemble it, then the setting of the film doesn’t work and so does the film. Another thing that Sayles made sure to get right was the music for that period. The music in the film was one of the film’s highlights. I liked how Sayles makes this a major point in the film, because the music here was very effective. He does that by hiring actual musician turned actor Gary Clark jr. Clark really does a good job brings the music to life, especially the number near the end of the film, which I won’t spoil.
The acting is this film was excellent. This film is the best performance from Danny Glover since the Lethal Weapon films. He brings a lot of dramatic charisma to the role, as the owner of the Honeydripper club, who haunted about the things that he did in the past. There are also some very good supporting performances from Stacy Keach as the sheriff, Charles S. Dutton, as Glover’s best friend and newcomer Gary Clark Jr.
Sayles’s screenplay was also very good. One of the things that he does well here was developing the story and its subplots. What makes a story and it subplots very good was the fact that the film had very interesting characters. One of the characters that I liked in the film was the blind guitar player. Sayles does a great job making the character, this mysterious mythical character that appears when thing look down for both Clark Jr. and Glover’s characters. He puts that character into the story because he brings the sort of wisdom that helps those characters stay on a path where they lives are starting to go downhill. Another thing that Sayles does well with this screenplay is to explore the racial tensions that happened during this time period. He uses that in one of the subplots, because he needed to in order to create that time period and sadly there was no way to avoid it.
Honeydripper is truly a memorable film with its great performance and it’s great music.
DVD Extras:
Commentary with Director John Sayles
Behind the Scenes
Cast Interviews
I am a huge John Sayles fan and will check this out at some point. Great review!!