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| Northfork
is a beguiling story of loss and resurrection, about adjusting to
the strange new places towards which we sometimes find ourselves heading.
Blending surreality and history, the film is spun in the manner of
an American fairy tale that tackles such themes as land, life, faith,
death, the afterlife and the power of dreams with a distinctively
playful touch. |
|
NORTHFORK
(2003) Film
Review BY DARREL MANSON |
| This
page was created on July 26, 2003
This page was last updated on
July 27, 2003
—Review
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections
—Forum
Dial up modems will take a few moments |
| CREDITS |
|  Directed
by Michael Polish
Screenplay by Mark Polish and Michael Polish
James Woods .... Walter O'Brien
Nick Nolte .... Father Harlan
Claire Forlani .... Mrs. Hadfield
Duel Farnes .... Irwin
Mark Polish .... Willis O'Brien
Daryl Hannah .... Flower Hercules
Graham Beckel .... Marvin
Josh Barker .... Matt
Peter Coyote .... Eddie
Jon Gries .... Arnold
Robin Sachs .... Cup of Tea
 Ben
Foster .... Cod
Anthony Edwards .... Happy
Marshall Bell .... Mr. Stalling
Kyle MacLachlan .... Mr. Hope
Michele Hicks .... Mrs. Hope
rest of cast listed alphabetically
R.J. Burns .... Neil
Clark Gregg .... Mr. Hadfield
Eli Kaufman .... Cookie
Josh Olsen .... Mr. Young
Produced
by
Gil Amaral .... co-executive producer
Jon Gries .... associate producer
Janet Jensen .... executive producer
Barbara A. Jones .... co-executive producer
Bruce E. Jones .... co-executive producer
Todd King .... co-producer
Damon Martin .... executive producer
Damon Martin .... executive producer
Paul Mayersohn .... executive producer
Mark Polish .... producer
Michael Polish .... producer
Anthony Romano .... executive producer
Michel Shane .... executive producer
Jonathan Sheldon .... associate producer
Paul Torok .... co-producer
Chad Troutwine .... associate producer
James Woods .... executive producer
Original Music by Stuart Matthewman
Cinematography by M. David Mullen
Film Editing by Leo Trombetta
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for brief sexuality.
Runtime: 103 min
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM,
and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG
|
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| SYNOPSIS
|
“We
are all angels. It is what we do with
our wings that separates us.”
-Nick Nolte / Father Harlan
In the next two days, the town of Northfork will cease to exist.
The
year is 1955 and Northfork is literally about to be “dammed,”
flooded to make way for a new hydroelectric project. The town’s
rugged plains are going to drown, its Heartland houses will be swept
away and its citizens are heading for higher ground. With the exception
of a few stoic resistors.
Now
a team of six trench-coated men has been charged with removing the
last few stragglers before it is too late. As the Evacuation Committee
spreads out across Northfork, they encounter a group of people not
quite ready or willing to leave. They are each in limbo. Some are
looking for a sign. Others are hoping for a miracle. Yet, one way
or another, they will all have to say goodbye.
Among
these tenacious individuals are a lustful young couple, a man who
has built an Ark (complete with a pair of wives), and a frail orphan
whose fevered visions have led him to believe he’s the lost
member of an ancient herd of roaming Angels calling him home.
Northfork
is a beguiling story of loss and resurrection, about adjusting to
the strange new places towards which we sometimes find ourselves
heading. Blending surreality and history, the film is spun in the
manner of an American fairy tale that tackles such themes as land,
life, faith, death, the afterlife and the power of dreams with a
distinctively playful touch.
Northfork
is the latest installment from the Polish Brothers, who previously
won acclaim for Twin Falls, Idaho and Jackpot,
the first two films in a series about America’s Heartland
– and the country’s shifting dreams and visions. The
film is directed by Michael Polish and written and produced by Mark
Polish and Michael Polish. The ensemble cast includes Nick Nolte,
Daryl Hannah, James Woods, Anthony Edwards, Claire Forlani, Peter
Coyote and Kyle MacLachlan. Paul Mayersohn and James Woods are the
executive producers.
|
Review by
DARREL MANSON BLOG
Pastor,
Artesia Christian Church, Artesia, CA
http://netministries.org/see/churches/ch01198
Darrel
has an incredible love and interest in the cinematic arts. His reviews
usually include independent and significantly important film. |
I'm
pressing on the upward way,
New heights I'm gaining every day;
Still praying as I'm onward bound,
"Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."
My heart has not desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where these abound,
My prayer, my aim is higher ground.
-19th century gospel song by
Johnson Oakley, Jr.
Northfork, Montana, is about to be removed from the face of the
earth. In two days, a new dam will create the biggest lake west
of the Mississippi where the town is. Nearly everyone has already
moved on, not much is left besides the foundations of home that
have been hauled away. Everyone and everything has moved on to higher
ground.
Well, almost everybody. A few stragglers hang on causing the Evacuation
Committee to go out to "urge" them on to higher ground. The town
priest is still around, preaching one last sermon in the church
that has had its front wall removed, opening the sanctuary to the
wide open plains. An orphan is near death. Some angels are looking
for a lost relative.
Northfork is filled with spiritual and biblical imagery, but often
it is turned on its head. There is an ark, but all the animals in
it are dead and mounted, however there are two wives. The son that
comes back is not a prodigal, but a dying child whose adoptive parents
don't want to deal with his illness. Crosses and crucifixes are
present in many scenes (even the vent in an outhouse door).
 One
of the elements of the film is a band of earthbound angels seeking
a lost member of their group, but they really don't know who it
could be. These are not your typical angels. They seem more human
than divine. They are flawed and hurting. They aren't so much fallen
angels as they are broken angels. Happy is nearly blind and has
no hands. Flower Hercules is torn between a female nature and a
male nature. Cod is silent, but is the one who is filled with revelation.
Cup of Tea is so cynical he has a hard time believing in himself.
They never seem happy, perhaps because they are incomplete without
their lost relative.
Irwin, the dying orphan, sets out to convince them that he belongs
to them. But we have to wonder, are they real or are they only the
deluded dream of this dying child? They seem to need to get together
in order to find their way to their higher ground.
The theme of angels is also seen in the Evacuation Committee, six
men in identical black trench coats and fedoras, driving identical
Fords. They also each have a white feather in their hats and lapel
pins of angel wings. And each takes with them a boxed set of a child's
angel wings for the families they are urging to higher ground.
 In
spite of their black motif, these are not angels of death or judgment.
Rather they are angels that are trying to lead people to a new life.
Not only are they sending them to higher ground above the level
of the water, but giving them a chance of a higher ground in terms
of opportunities beyond what they have.
Northfork is a mixture of narrative and dream and inspiration with
the boundaries between them all very blurred. The viewer is never
quite sure what is real and what isn't through the film. But that
allows people lots of room to interpret the film. One of the Evacuation
Committee notes, "This country is being divided into two types of
people: Ford People and Chevy People." But, of course, the world
is far more diverse than that. There will be far more than two ways
of understanding this film.
This film can be seen as about loss and grief, about being lost
and found, about faith and doubt, about community and loneliness,
about life and death and resurrection. It is a film with many meanings,
just as "higher ground" carries several meanings throughout the
film -- physical, spiritual, moral. It's not an easy film to figure
out. It's not a film that one can watch and say, "Oh, I get it."
As my wife and I left the theater, one guy was outside trying to
warn the people in line that it was no good. I suspect that people
will either love or hate Northfork. For many it may be too muddled
and nebulous. Many may wade into it and just see pretension but
discover that there is no there there. Many others will find
something in this that speaks to them and leads them on to higher
ground.
Lord, lift me up and let me stand
By faith on heaven's tableland,
A higher plane that I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
-refrain of the gospel song |
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