Shadrach (film)
Encyclopedia
Shadrach is a 1998 American film directed by Susanna Styron
, based on a short story by her father William Styron
, about a former slave's struggle to be buried where he chooses.
, the Dabney family of Virginia
sold their slave, Shadrach (John Franklin Sawyer), to plantation owners in Alabama
, separating him from his family. In 1935, during the Great Depression
, Shadrach—at the age of 99—walks the 600 miles from his home in Alabama to the Dabney farm in Virginia. His one request is to be buried in the soil of the farm where he was born into slavery.
The farm is owned by the descendants of the Dabney family, consisting of Vernon (Keitel), Trixie (McDowell) and their seven children. But to bury a black man on that land is a violation of strict Virginia law, so the family goes through the arduous task of figuring out how to grant his request. Along the way they form a touching bond with the former slave and sharecropper, who has outlived both his former wives and some 35 children.
gave the film a mixed review, writing, "Shadrach is a well-meaning film, directed by Susanna Styron from her father's autobiographical story. But without diminishing Shadrach's own determination and dignity (evoked in a minimalist, whispering performance by first-time actor Sawyer), it indulges in a certain sentimentality that is hard to accept in the dark weather stirred up by Beloved
. The movie even has Vernon Dabney wonder if the slaves weren't better off back when they had an assured place in the social order and got their meals on time; the movie does not adopt this view as its own and quietly corrects him. But I was left with a vision of Vernon trying to expound his theories to Sethe, the heroine of Beloved, who would rather have a child dead in freedom than alive in slavery." Also, unlike all the other reviewers, who gave Shadrach's age as 99, Ebert described him as "a 101-year-old former slave".
Los Angeles Times
film critic Kevin Thomas
liked the film and wrote, "This flawless, deeply felt yet buoyant and graceful film marks Styron's feature directorial debut, after a varied career as a documentarian, writer and as an assistant to Ken Russell
on Altered States
and Luis Buñuel
on That Obscure Object of Desire
. That she herself has a Southern heritage, adapting (with Bridget Terry) her own celebrated father's story, surely gives the period-perfect Shadrach its special resonance.
A sympathetic New York Times review by Lawrence Van Gelder
posited that "[I]n films like The Grass Harp and today's arrival, Shadrach, a generation raised in prosperity turns to a difficult past, suffuses it with a romantic glow and gazes with something like envy on its simple ways while tapping its people for insights into life's eternal verities, like death. On more than one level, the slight, sweet, sentimental Shadrach is a labor of love by Susanna Styron, the film's director and co-writer, from an autobiographical tale by her father, William Styron, published in Esquire
in 1978."
Variety
magazine film critic Emanuel Levy
had problems with the screenplay in his review, writing, "Susanna Styron and Bridget Terry's script, which extends to the limits a narrative that is basically a small, simple and poignant story, suffers from being both literal and literary. Indeed, were it not for the foul language used by the white trash but decent father, Shadrach is the kind of well-intentioned picture that could easily have been made by Disney and comfortably play as an after-school special."
Reel Talk reviewer Donald Levit referred to the film's length as well as Martin Sheen's narration, "[R]unning times vary, from eighty-six to a hundred ten minutes, but even the latter, European print does not need this unseen presence looking back, setting scenes, and drawing a lesson learned (or not)."
, Finland
, Spain
and the United Kingdom
, to generally positive critical reviews. Australian writers Paul Fischer and David Edwards were highly complimentary, with Fischer calling it "a beautifully complex masterpiece that has resonances with the likes of Grapes of Wrath
, concluding that "Shadrach is an exquisite, detailed drama, beautifully made", and Edwards continuing in much the same vein, "[L]yrical and beautiful, it's one of those minor masterpieces that comes along all too rarely".
Susanna Styron
Susanna Styron is an American film and documentary maker. She is one of the four children of writer and novelist William Styron and his wife, Rose....
, based on a short story by her father William Styron
William Styron
William Clark Styron, Jr. was an American novelist and essayist who won major literary awards for his work.For much of his career, Styron was best known for his novels, which included...
, about a former slave's struggle to be buried where he chooses.
Plot
Before the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the Dabney family of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
sold their slave, Shadrach (John Franklin Sawyer), to plantation owners in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, separating him from his family. In 1935, during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Shadrach—at the age of 99—walks the 600 miles from his home in Alabama to the Dabney farm in Virginia. His one request is to be buried in the soil of the farm where he was born into slavery.
The farm is owned by the descendants of the Dabney family, consisting of Vernon (Keitel), Trixie (McDowell) and their seven children. But to bury a black man on that land is a violation of strict Virginia law, so the family goes through the arduous task of figuring out how to grant his request. Along the way they form a touching bond with the former slave and sharecropper, who has outlived both his former wives and some 35 children.
Cast
- Harvey KeitelHarvey KeitelHarvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
as Vernon - Andie MacDowellAndie MacDowellRosalie Anderson "Andie" MacDowell is an American model and actress. She has received the Golden Camera and an Honorary César.-Early life:...
as Trixie - Monica Bugajski as Edmonia
- Deborah Hedwall as Mother
- Darrell Larson as Father
- Scott TerraScott TerraScott Weston Terra is an American actor perhaps most recognized for his role as young Matthew Murdock in the 2003 film Daredevil. Terra was officially announced as a part of the cast in March 2002...
as Paul - Daniel Treat as Little Mole
- Jonathan Parks Jordan as Middle Mole
- Erin Underwood as Lucinda
- and introducing John Franklin Sawyer as Shadrach
- narrated by Martin SheenMartin SheenRamón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
Critical reception
Film critic Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film a mixed review, writing, "Shadrach is a well-meaning film, directed by Susanna Styron from her father's autobiographical story. But without diminishing Shadrach's own determination and dignity (evoked in a minimalist, whispering performance by first-time actor Sawyer), it indulges in a certain sentimentality that is hard to accept in the dark weather stirred up by Beloved
Beloved
Beloved may refer to:*Beloved, referring to an intimate relationship of love-Film:*Beloved , a 1998 film, based on the Toni Morrison novel*The Beloved , a 1970 film written and directed by George P...
. The movie even has Vernon Dabney wonder if the slaves weren't better off back when they had an assured place in the social order and got their meals on time; the movie does not adopt this view as its own and quietly corrects him. But I was left with a vision of Vernon trying to expound his theories to Sethe, the heroine of Beloved, who would rather have a child dead in freedom than alive in slavery." Also, unlike all the other reviewers, who gave Shadrach's age as 99, Ebert described him as "a 101-year-old former slave".
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
film critic Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Marvin Kevin Thomas is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League. He was a standout high school football player at Rio Mesa High School in Oxnard, California and a college football player at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada...
liked the film and wrote, "This flawless, deeply felt yet buoyant and graceful film marks Styron's feature directorial debut, after a varied career as a documentarian, writer and as an assistant to Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
on Altered States
Altered States
Altered States is a 1980 American science fiction-horror film adaptation of a novel by the same name by playwright and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky. It was the only novel that Chayefsky ever wrote, as well as his final film. Both the novel and the film are based on John C...
and Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
on That Obscure Object of Desire
That Obscure Object of Desire
That Obscure Object of Desire is a 1977 film directed by Luis Buñuel. Set in Spain and France against the backdrop of a terrorist insurgency, the film tells the story of an aging Frenchman who falls in love with a young woman who repeatedly frustrates his romantic and sexual desires.-Synopsis:A...
. That she herself has a Southern heritage, adapting (with Bridget Terry) her own celebrated father's story, surely gives the period-perfect Shadrach its special resonance.
A sympathetic New York Times review by Lawrence Van Gelder
Lawrence Van Gelder
Lawrence Van Gelder is an American journalist and instructor in journalism who has worked at several different New York City-based newspapers in his long career. Until 2010 he was senior editor of the Arts and Leisure weekly section of The New York Times...
posited that "[I]n films like The Grass Harp and today's arrival, Shadrach, a generation raised in prosperity turns to a difficult past, suffuses it with a romantic glow and gazes with something like envy on its simple ways while tapping its people for insights into life's eternal verities, like death. On more than one level, the slight, sweet, sentimental Shadrach is a labor of love by Susanna Styron, the film's director and co-writer, from an autobiographical tale by her father, William Styron, published in Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
in 1978."
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine film critic Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy is an American film critic and professor.-Life:Emanuel Levy began his studies at Tel Aviv University, where he received B.A. in sociology, anthropology and political science. He did graduate work in sociology, film, and culture studies at Columbia University, where he earned a Ph.D...
had problems with the screenplay in his review, writing, "Susanna Styron and Bridget Terry's script, which extends to the limits a narrative that is basically a small, simple and poignant story, suffers from being both literal and literary. Indeed, were it not for the foul language used by the white trash but decent father, Shadrach is the kind of well-intentioned picture that could easily have been made by Disney and comfortably play as an after-school special."
Reel Talk reviewer Donald Levit referred to the film's length as well as Martin Sheen's narration, "[R]unning times vary, from eighty-six to a hundred ten minutes, but even the latter, European print does not need this unseen presence looking back, setting scenes, and drawing a lesson learned (or not)."
Release and distribution
The film, originally distributed by Columbia Tri-Star Pictures, was initially released on September 25, 1998 on a limited basis with four showings in Wilmington, North Carolina, then quickly released to VHS home video and DVD by Sony Pictures. It was also shown at the Los Angeles Film Festival on April 16, 1998, and released internationally with showings in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, to generally positive critical reviews. Australian writers Paul Fischer and David Edwards were highly complimentary, with Fischer calling it "a beautifully complex masterpiece that has resonances with the likes of Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath (film)
The Grapes of Wrath is a 1940 drama film directed by John Ford. It was based on John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson and the executive producer was Darryl F...
, concluding that "Shadrach is an exquisite, detailed drama, beautifully made", and Edwards continuing in much the same vein, "[L]yrical and beautiful, it's one of those minor masterpieces that comes along all too rarely".
External links
- Shadrach film trailer on Reelz ChannelReelz ChannelReelzChannel is a digital cable television channel owned by Hubbard Broadcasting that airs programming about movies as well as syndicated programming. It features news and information on movies currently in theatres as well as information on movies released on DVD and airing on cable television...
- William Styron discusses, among other things, his short story "Shadrach"