This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Country Living
Plot Overview
Pretty, young Libby Moran (Leslie Bibb)
having lost her husband, her house, and her mother Marsha (Sharon
Lawrence)'s good will, moves with her two kids to her Aunt Jean (Nora
Dunn)'s goat farm in central Texas. Farm manager James O'Connor (Josh
Duhamel)—aka “the
hot farmer”—brings her up to speed on farm work while
Jean and the granddaughter Sunshine (Herizen F. Guardiola)
of Jean's boyfriend Russ McAllen (Isiah Whitlock Jr.)—who's
regular company—act as opposite poles to help Libby recover
emotionally from her sudden loss.
Jean is White, Russ is black, and Libby has one foot in the city & one in the country. Jean's a “hippie liberal,” Russ a “conservative lawyer,” and Libby is “undecided.” Most importantly Jean will help Libby come to grips with her early childhood memories in the (unspoken) vein of Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) who believed these early influences live on in one's subconscious. While Freud believed in an individual's subconscious, his protégé Carl Jung (1875–1961) believed in a universal collective subconscious shared by the whole human race past, present and future. Sunshine believes Libby's lost husband is not so dead and gone. The place of her seance will help Libby get her bearings as will memories of earlier times.
Ideology
There's a tension throughout the film between a city-girl mom and a country-girl aunt. Libby says, “I know I need a job, but I'm not sure I'm the farming type.” Her mom tells her, “You're not meant for a farm.” But King Solomon wrote, (Prov. 27:23-24) “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?” Fame and fortune is fleeting. Libby occupied a nice house, held health insurance, drove two cars, and wed a professional man. Unfortunately they were broke and then he died. Sunshine went to L.A. to make it as a singer-songwriter, “to be somebody,” but two years later her label dumped her. Libby was concerned that she “gotta send my kids to college,” but O'connor feels, “College isn't necessary,” that learning practical survival skills is what's important. Every main character in the film has a higher education that hasn't done him much good. The farm, however, produces needed vegetable, animal and dairy products.
(Prov. 27:25) “The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.” Jam: “strawberries and blueberries from that field in the back.” They plant “only what we can eat.”
(Prov. 27:26) “The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.” We see lambs foraging and Libby having forgot her coat wears a scarf and sweater. They make goat cheese (chévre) commercially from thirty goats. They have a turkey for Thanksgiving and Wiggy the piggy is “delicious. She was a good pig.”
(Prov. 27:27) “And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.” “The hens lay eggs … and the goats make milk.”
Production Values
“” (2020) was written and directed by Vicky Wight. It was based on the novel The Lost Husband by Katherine Center. It stars Leslie Bibb, Josh Duhamel, and Sharon Lawrence. The two leads came across as talented amateurs. The child actors were credible children. The rest of the actors seemed up to the task.
MPAA rated it PG–13 for some suggestive references. The kissing scenes were handled discretely, without excessive displays except where the plot called for it. The racially mixed couple merely bussed each other's cheeks in greeting.
The grandfather of black Sunshine—who involved Libby in black African sorcery—was necessarily black. He was boyfriend to Libby's aunt Jean, but for what it's worth Jean was a “hippie liberal” to begin with. At any rate Sunshine's default job in L.A. was busing tables before she left to be a clerk in her Texas grandfather's feed store, he being an “entrepreneur” not a busy lawyer despite his degree. He served as a rescuer at one point. Somehow the optics were preserved for a southern viewer with certain sensibilities.
It was filmed in Austin, Texas, USA. The music was gentle, and the camera work was smooth. The story unfolded gradually.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
I don't really care for movies that depict the dark arts, but at least that wasn't central to the plot in this one. It had a budding courtship rather than a whirlwind romance. The novelist's foundation seemed sound, but the Irish immigrant writer/director in her adaptation couldn't quite capture the feel of Texas on the goat farm or of America in the elementary school. Her reach exceeded her grasp though it was a warm telling nevertheless, a chick flick all the way.
Movie Ratings
Suitability for Children: Suitable for children 13+ years with guidance. Action factor: No action, farm adventure. Special effects: Well, at least you can't see the strings. Video Occasion: Good Date Movie. Suspense: Predictable. Overall movie rating: Three and a half stars out of five.
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