There is nothing remotely uplifting, redeeming, or inspiring about this film - although that was supposedly the intention.
Nevermind the bad acting, poor editing, and abysmal directing. It's the writing that kills it dead. Firstly, the method they use to show the daughter as being independent-minded is her smoking with two boys in a bathroom stall. This really only shows her to be self-destructive, and actually kind of dependent on peer pressure. Also. . . kids smoking in a Disney movie? The man with the mouse would not approve.
Secondly, both the father and daughter in the movie are a pair of bona fide s@#$s. The father decides it's perfectly alright to leave his brainless, self-destructive daughter with a self-obsessed landlady who (no surprise here) kicks her out as he skips merrily off to the other side of the country. Oh, and this is after he spends the day looking for her because apparently he in no way keeps tabs on his pre-teen daughter in downtown Depression Era Chicago. This is someone for whom we're supposed to feel empathy and/or admiration?
When the daughter, Natty, sets out on her own, she abandons a dog she adopted a couple scenes before. Like careless father like careless daughter? Then she lets a large, snarling, blood-soaked dog escape loose into a town after it wins a dog fight. I was actually almost glad when a random guy slapped her for doing it. I wanted to slap her myself at that point. The dog predictably shows up snarling and barking at her in the next scene, but sadly it doesn't end the film then and there by mauling her to death as a lesson to viewers not to release trained weapon-dogs into the world. Eventually, Natty avoids starving by the sheer luck that the dog brings her food and basically decides to adopt her.
After the next part, wherein the dog guides her to an a-hole farmer and his pregnant wife - followed by the obvious upcoming implication that the dog would get blamed for an attack on the farmer's chickens - I just couldn't stand to watch anymore. The stupidity and endless pettiness of the writing became overwhelming.
Oh and, by the way, girls from that era (even inner city girls) didn't swear that freely.
All this said, the art direction and costuming is excellent. The cinematography is good, too. What a waste.
Nevermind the bad acting, poor editing, and abysmal directing. It's the writing that kills it dead. Firstly, the method they use to show the daughter as being independent-minded is her smoking with two boys in a bathroom stall. This really only shows her to be self-destructive, and actually kind of dependent on peer pressure. Also. . . kids smoking in a Disney movie? The man with the mouse would not approve.
Secondly, both the father and daughter in the movie are a pair of bona fide s@#$s. The father decides it's perfectly alright to leave his brainless, self-destructive daughter with a self-obsessed landlady who (no surprise here) kicks her out as he skips merrily off to the other side of the country. Oh, and this is after he spends the day looking for her because apparently he in no way keeps tabs on his pre-teen daughter in downtown Depression Era Chicago. This is someone for whom we're supposed to feel empathy and/or admiration?
When the daughter, Natty, sets out on her own, she abandons a dog she adopted a couple scenes before. Like careless father like careless daughter? Then she lets a large, snarling, blood-soaked dog escape loose into a town after it wins a dog fight. I was actually almost glad when a random guy slapped her for doing it. I wanted to slap her myself at that point. The dog predictably shows up snarling and barking at her in the next scene, but sadly it doesn't end the film then and there by mauling her to death as a lesson to viewers not to release trained weapon-dogs into the world. Eventually, Natty avoids starving by the sheer luck that the dog brings her food and basically decides to adopt her.
After the next part, wherein the dog guides her to an a-hole farmer and his pregnant wife - followed by the obvious upcoming implication that the dog would get blamed for an attack on the farmer's chickens - I just couldn't stand to watch anymore. The stupidity and endless pettiness of the writing became overwhelming.
Oh and, by the way, girls from that era (even inner city girls) didn't swear that freely.
All this said, the art direction and costuming is excellent. The cinematography is good, too. What a waste.