Lidia Joanne Simmons recalls her family's tough times in Juliette, Mississippi. Her shell-shocked Vietnam-vet father Stephen Simmons (Kevin Costner) is struggling to keep any job while her mother Lois (Mare Winningham) keeps the family together. Lidia and her twin brother Stu (Elijah Wood) make peace between the girls and boys to build a tree house together. They are always bullied by the junkyard Lipnicki kids. Stephen befriends Moe Henry who helps him get a job in the mine.
There is a lot of mannered southern accents especially from the kids. LaToya Chisholm is the broadest character of them all and it's somewhat bothersome. She plays the sassy black friend to its tilt. The kids have varying success and that's the problem. The movie relies on mostly amateur child actors and not all of them work well. Kevin Costner gives his wise lessons that border on preaching. This is dripping in sincerity and suffers from its heavy-handedness. The combination of Vietnam war action with a kids' coming-of-age fable creates an uneasy mix. If one's willing to buy into it, the film could be a sincere watch.
There is a lot of mannered southern accents especially from the kids. LaToya Chisholm is the broadest character of them all and it's somewhat bothersome. She plays the sassy black friend to its tilt. The kids have varying success and that's the problem. The movie relies on mostly amateur child actors and not all of them work well. Kevin Costner gives his wise lessons that border on preaching. This is dripping in sincerity and suffers from its heavy-handedness. The combination of Vietnam war action with a kids' coming-of-age fable creates an uneasy mix. If one's willing to buy into it, the film could be a sincere watch.