Ulee's Gold ★★★ 1997 (R) Slow-paced, deliberate character study, set in the Florida panhandle. Ulysses "Ulee" Jackson (Fonda) is a widowed, middle-aged Vietnam vet who puts most of his energies into his work as a beekeeper, much to the detriment of his family. Son Jimmy (Wood) is in prison and druggie daughter-in-law Helen (Dunford) has disappeared, leaving the taciturn Ulee to care for his troubled granddaughters, teenaged Casey (Biel) and nine-year-old Penny (Zima). But their ordinary lives change when Helen turns up in Orlando with two violent hoods from Jimmy's past and Ulee must not only rescue her but find the emotional release to make them all a home. Splendidly moving performance from Fonda. 111m/C VHS, DVD, Wide. Peter Fonda, Tom Wood, Vanessa Zima, Jessica Biel, Christine Dunford, Patricia Richardson, Steve Flynn, Dewey Weber, J. Kenneth Campbell;
Director:
Victor Nunez;
Writer:
Victor Nunez;
Writer:
Virgil Marcus Mirano;
Cameo:
Charles Engstrom. Golden Globes '98: Actor—Drama (Fonda); N.Y. Film Critics '97: Actor (Fonda).
