The Neon Bible (film)
Encyclopedia
The Neon Bible is a 1995
drama film
written and directed by Terence Davies, based on the novel of the same name
by John Kennedy Toole
. The film is about a boy named David (Jacob Tierney
) coming of age
in Georgia
in the 1940s. His abusive father (Denis Leary
) enlists in the army during World War II
and disappears and David is left to take care of his mother (Diana Scarwid
) with his Aunt Mae (Gena Rowlands
) who is a singer. It was filmed in the state of Georgia, in the cities Atlanta
, Crawfordville
, and Madison
.
The film was released in France
in August 1995, the United Kingdom
in October 1995, Australia
in November 1995, and released in the United States
on March 1, 1996. It was a selection of the 1995 New York Film Festival.
. San Francisco Chronicle
film critic Edward Guthmann said the film was poorly received when it premiered at Cannes, but called it "gorgeous" and "one of the year's most beautiful films." He said it was a rewarding film that requires a little faith from the viewer due to long, slow, "lingering shots that work as a kind of meditation." He described the revival meeting
at night "like an Edward Hopper
or Thomas Hart Benton
painting come to life."
Judd Blaise of Allmovie gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and said "Some viewers will likely be frustrated by the slow pace and elliptical style, though others may be transfixed by the often stunning photography and poetic approach." The New York Times
film critic Stephen Holden said one of the problems with the film was that it "may have succumbed to its own dreamy esthetic" by focusing on the same image too often, and that the end of the film "loses its balance."
Stephen Brophy, a staff reporter for The Tech, said "Terence Davies' latest film looks as ravishing as Distant Voices, Still Lives
, or The Long Day Closes but that the plot was weak and that the ending of the film was absurd. San Francisco Examiner critic Barry Walters said the film was "unrelentingly downbeat" and that "it starts off dark and gets darker". He called it "one long crawl into an emotional abyss without catharsis" and said that the director Davies had created a nightmare.
In an interview with Time Out Film, Terence Davies said "The Neon Bible doesn't work, and that's entirely my fault. The only thing I can say is that it's a transition work. And I couldn't have done The House of Mirth without it."
Shown on three screens in the United States, the film grossed $78,072 in its theatrical release.
1995 in film
-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written and directed by Terence Davies, based on the novel of the same name
The Neon Bible
The Neon Bible is John Kennedy Toole's first novel, written at the age of 16. Its main appeal is as an early look at the writer who would later write A Confederacy of Dunces....
by John Kennedy Toole
John Kennedy Toole
John Kennedy Toole was an American novelist from New Orleans, Louisiana, best-known for his posthumously published novel A Confederacy of Dunces. He also wrote The Neon Bible. Although several people in the literary world felt his writing skills were praiseworthy, Toole's novels were rejected...
. The film is about a boy named David (Jacob Tierney
Jacob Tierney
Jacob Daniel Tierney is a Canadian actor, film director and screenwriter.Tierney was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of veteran producer Kevin Tierney...
) coming of age
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
in the 1940s. His abusive father (Denis Leary
Denis Leary
Denis Colin Leary is an Irish-American actor, comedian, writer and director. Leary is known for his biting, fast paced comedic style and chain smoking...
) enlists in the army during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and disappears and David is left to take care of his mother (Diana Scarwid
Diana Scarwid
Diana Scarwid is an American actress. Scarwid has done work in film, television and theater.-Personal life:Scarwid was born in Savannah, Georgia, and left Georgia at the age of 17, heading to New York to become an actress. She graduated from Pace University and The American Academy of Dramatic...
) with his Aunt Mae (Gena Rowlands
Gena Rowlands
Gena Rowlands is an American actress of film, stage and television. The four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner is best known for her collaborations with her actor-director husband John Cassavetes in ten films, in two of which, Gloria and A Woman Under the Influence, she gave Academy...
) who is a singer. It was filmed in the state of Georgia, in the cities Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Crawfordville
Crawfordville, Georgia
Crawfordville is a city in Taliaferro County, Georgia, United States. The population was 572 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Taliaferro County.-Geography:Crawfordville is located at ....
, and Madison
Madison, Georgia
Madison is a city in Morgan County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,636 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Morgan County....
.
The film was released in France
France
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...
in August 1995, 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...
in October 1995, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in November 1995, and released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on March 1, 1996. It was a selection of the 1995 New York Film Festival.
Cast
- Jacob TierneyJacob TierneyJacob Daniel Tierney is a Canadian actor, film director and screenwriter.Tierney was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of veteran producer Kevin Tierney...
as David, aged 15 - Drake BellDrake BellJared Drake Bell , better known as Drake Bell, is an American actor, comedian, guitarist, singer/songwriter, producer, and occasional television director. After beginning his career as a child star in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he appeared on The Amanda Show and became well-known among young...
as David, aged 10 - Gena RowlandsGena RowlandsGena Rowlands is an American actress of film, stage and television. The four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner is best known for her collaborations with her actor-director husband John Cassavetes in ten films, in two of which, Gloria and A Woman Under the Influence, she gave Academy...
as Mae Morgan - Diana ScarwidDiana ScarwidDiana Scarwid is an American actress. Scarwid has done work in film, television and theater.-Personal life:Scarwid was born in Savannah, Georgia, and left Georgia at the age of 17, heading to New York to become an actress. She graduated from Pace University and The American Academy of Dramatic...
as Sarah - Denis LearyDenis LearyDenis Colin Leary is an Irish-American actor, comedian, writer and director. Leary is known for his biting, fast paced comedic style and chain smoking...
as Frank - Bob HannahBob HannahRobert "Hurricane" Hannah was one of the most successful motocross racers in American history. He won a total of seven AMA national championships....
as George - Aaron Frisch as Bruce
- Charles Franzen as Tannoy Voice
- Leo BurmesterLeo BurmesterLeo Burmester was an American actor. Burmester worked for director John Sayles several times, including in Passion Fish and Lone Star , and also for directors such as John Schlesinger and Sidney Lumet, and as the Apostle Nathaniel in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ...
as Bobbie Lee Taylor - Sherry Velvet as First Testifier
- Stephanie Astalos-Jones as Second Testifier
- Ian Shearer as Billy Sunday Thompson
- Joan Glover as Flora
- Jill Jane Clements as Woman
- Tom Turbiville as Clyde
- Sharon Blackwood as Schoolmistress
- Peter McRobbiePeter McRobbiePeter McRobbie is a Scottish-born, American-based character actor.-Career:McRobbie has more than 60 movies and television series to his credit. The movies include Spider-Man 2, World Trade Center, Sleepers, and Bullets over Broadway...
as Reverend Watkins - Ken Fight as Schoolmaster
- Dana Seltzer (credited as Dana Atwood) as Jo Lynne
- Virgil Graham Hopkins as Mr. Williams
- Ducan Stewart as Boy in Drugstore
- J.T. Alessi as Boy in Drugstore
- Duncan Stewart as Head Boy
- Frances ConroyFrances ConroyFrances Conroy is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ruth, the matriarch of the Fisher family, on Six Feet Under, which earned her a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.-Early life:...
as Miss Scover - Marcus Batton as School Boy
Reception
The film was entered into the 1995 Cannes Film Festival1995 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Jeanne Moreau *Gianni Amelio *Jean-Claude Brialy *Nadine Gordimer *Gaston Kabore *Michele-Ray Gavras *Emilio Garcia Riera *Philippe Rousselot *John Waters...
. San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
film critic Edward Guthmann said the film was poorly received when it premiered at Cannes, but called it "gorgeous" and "one of the year's most beautiful films." He said it was a rewarding film that requires a little faith from the viewer due to long, slow, "lingering shots that work as a kind of meditation." He described the revival meeting
Revival meeting
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held in order to inspire active members of a church body, to raise funds and to gain new converts...
at night "like an Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper was a prominent American realist painter and printmaker. While most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching...
or Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton (painter)
Thomas Hart Benton was an American painter and muralist. Along with Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry, he was at the forefront of the Regionalist art movement. His fluid, almost sculpted paintings showed everyday scenes of life in the United States...
painting come to life."
Judd Blaise of Allmovie gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and said "Some viewers will likely be frustrated by the slow pace and elliptical style, though others may be transfixed by the often stunning photography and poetic approach." The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
film critic Stephen Holden said one of the problems with the film was that it "may have succumbed to its own dreamy esthetic" by focusing on the same image too often, and that the end of the film "loses its balance."
Stephen Brophy, a staff reporter for The Tech, said "Terence Davies' latest film looks as ravishing as Distant Voices, Still Lives
Distant Voices, Still Lives
Distant Voices, Still Lives is a 1988 British film directed and written by Terence Davies. It evokes working-class family life in Liverpool during the 1940s and early 1950s, paying particular attention to the role of popular music, Hollywood cinema, light entertainment, and the public house within...
, or The Long Day Closes but that the plot was weak and that the ending of the film was absurd. San Francisco Examiner critic Barry Walters said the film was "unrelentingly downbeat" and that "it starts off dark and gets darker". He called it "one long crawl into an emotional abyss without catharsis" and said that the director Davies had created a nightmare.
In an interview with Time Out Film, Terence Davies said "The Neon Bible doesn't work, and that's entirely my fault. The only thing I can say is that it's a transition work. And I couldn't have done The House of Mirth without it."
Shown on three screens in the United States, the film grossed $78,072 in its theatrical release.