The homesman is a 2014 historical drama set in the 1850s midwest, directed by tommy lee jones. Thats just about the worst thing mary bee cuddy could ever say. What does the homesman say about womens roles in frontier america related. Planning before you can begin work on plotting your novel, you must first start with the basics of your story. The homesman is built slowly upon each character encountered along mary and leonards journey, moreso than through locations or plotting. Anyone who imagines that a homesteaders life on americas great plains was all little house on the prairie hasnt tried it. In fiction, the plot is the storyline from the beginning to the end, driving the character toward a goal. Finding a book when youve forgotten its title by gwen glazer, communications november 22, 2017. Nov, 2014 in the homesman, a most unromantic american west hilary swank and tommy lee jones play two very different people taking a dangerous trip across the arid plains in a beautifully photographed film. Jun 20, 2016 in short, if youre struggling with how to plot a book, the answer is easy. Unfortunately, once the novel goes wrong, which it does with a bizarre, alienating plot twist about threequarters of the way through, it never recovers.
Nov 14, 2014 the west, as seen in the homesman, is an unforgiving place, with flashes of stark and nightmarish beauty. But, the first and last times she speaks in the film, shes proposing to a man who turns her down. December 9, 2014 below you can view the complete the homesman soundtrack list, score album. Tommy lee jones rustles up fine feminist western, homesman. The journey in tommy lee jones the homesman, based on the 1988 novel by glendon swarthout, travels from west to east, from the unmarked nebraska territory to a town in iowa. Three women who have been driven mad by pioneer life are to be transported across the country by covered wagon by the pious, independentminded mary bee cuddy, who in turn employs lowlife drifter george briggs to assist her. Browse author series lists, sequels, pseudonyms, synopses, book covers, ratings and awards. This is an update of a previous post by sharon rickson. One of swarthouts skeletons, the old colts, the melodeon, etc. Finding a book when youve forgotten its title the new. Swarthouts prose and plot flow like the swirling missouri river, deceptively smooth but with dangerous undercurrents. I am a fan of tommy lee jones so this piqued my interest. This movies switchback plotting ambles from crisis to comical, threatening to maintain a tone but not for long.
Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at. Nov 14, 2014 the point of the homesman, directed by tommy lee jones and based on glendon swarthouts novel of the same name, is not that these adjectives are inappropriate. Online dictionaries and encyclopedias with entries for the homesman. In the homesman, a most unromantic american west hilary swank and tommy lee jones play two very different people taking a dangerous trip across the arid plains in a beautifully photographed film. The point of the homesman, directed by tommy lee jones and based on glendon swarthouts novel of the same name, is not that these adjectives are inappropriate.
The screenplay by jones, kieran fitzgerald and wesley oliver is based on the 1988 novel of the same name by glendon swarthout. Glendon swarthouts novel the homesman 1988 is made into a. Its about a bossy spinster named mary bee cuddy hilary swank who agrees to transport three mentally ill women on a monthlong trip from loupan arid nebraska territory thats suffering widespread crop. The homesman is a devastating story of early pioneers in 1850s american west. The homesman stars hilary swank and tommy lee jones the. Three women have lost their minds in the homesman, but honestly, everyone you meet in the film is slightly crazy, the homesman most of all. Click on a label to prioritize search results according to that topic. Three women who have been driven mad by pioneer life are to be transported across the country by covered wagon by the pious, independentminded mary bee cuddy, who in turn. The homesman, the second theatrical feature directed by actor tommy lee jones, has the slippery, stubbornly imperfect feel of a vintage acid western. The homesman shot for 42 days, primarily on two ranches north and east of las vegas, new mexico not to be confused with the gambling mecca of las vegas, nevada. The premise of a story is a combination of character and plot.
The homesman was first printed in 1988, and is highly worthy of its 2014 rerelease. In the homesman, why did mary bee hang herself screenprism. The journey in tommy lee jones the homesman, based on the 1988 novel by glendon swarthout, travels from west to east, from the. Swank is breathtaking in a textured role that should be. The bulk of the novel, then, concerns their eastward journey, though slipped into the.
Storytelling tips from the homesman 2014 slap happy larry. Soon to be a major film directed by and starring tommy lee jones and costarring meryl streep, hilary swank, and john lithgow, this classic western novel captures the devastating realities of early pioneers in the american west through the eyes of one extraordinary woman. The homesman is a quirky, slowmoving, ultimately depressing western based on a novel. Mary bee cuddy is a 30ish spinster, tough as nails but yearning for a man, who has set up a nice homestead out near the town of loup, in oklahoma territory. Im a pantser right now but often i feel so insecure with it. In short, if youre struggling with how to plot a book, the answer is easy. Adapted from a novel by glendon swarthout that i will soon be devouring, the homesman is an unflinching tale of madness and survival in the fruitless, foodless, and mostly heartless grasslands of. Based on a novel by glendon swarthout who also wrote the shootist the. This book, the homesman, caught my eye at costco because of the cover. Hailed as a feminist western by some, the homesman only is. Plot structures for books in a series ensure your plot structure will grab the readers attention when writing a book series, it is important to keep plot structures in mind.
A significant plot development about three quarters of the way through has caused. I think this was a labor of love for tommy lee jones, who produced. John freeman because of its limited distribution, i was lucky to catch this at our local art theatre. The term plot is usually associated with fiction, but a successful nonfiction book also has a plot. The homesman went off on a strange tangent and i found myself not really caring how it was going to end. Based upon an actual case of multiple underaged rape which took place in the 1950s in a small michigan town, lowell, michigan, where the author grew up. The homesman jordan hoffman 05182014 you are a man of low character. Mar 06, 1988 the homesman went off on a strange tangent and i found myself not really caring how it was going to end. Mockingjay part 1, the homesman, winter sleep and get on up. First steps in plotting a novel daily writing tips. It is a reverse trajectory of the typical western path, the wildness of the prairies and plains reverting, startlingly, to a tame village perched on the edge of the placid missouri river. The homesman soundtrack list the homesman movie 2014.
The homesman is a devastating story of early pioneers in 1850s nebraska. Glendon swarthout has honed writing excellence to a nearly unsurpassable level. Oct 20, 2015 book club discussion questions october 20, 2015 by sheila 7 comments while its always helpful if you can find reading guides for the precise title your book club is reading, sometimes theyre not available. A homesman must be found to escort a handful of them back east to a sanitarium. Elmore leonard no reader should even attempt to guess what happens. Tommy lee jones is directing and starring in the feature film the homesman, along with hilary swank, miranda otto, john lithgow, tim blake nelson and meryl streep. The homesman is a musical album of marco beltrami, soundtrack. Jones is also wise enough to step into the supporting role, giving swank room to do her best stuff as mary bee, an extraordinary woman whos as strong as a man yet full of yearning and forever. Set on the great plains in the mid1800s, the homesman aims for a story thats poignant and told sparely, but comes across as mawkish, tedious and selfindulgent. It sometimes seems to have a christian viewpoint but then undercuts it in a couple strange, somewhat ambiguous ways that left movieguide scratching its proverbial head. Also, the opening has some parallel cutting of disturbing events that arent explained. That area of eastern new mexico is part of the great plains as was the nebraska territory where the story is set. The film stars jones and hilary swank and also features meryl streep, grace gummer, miranda otto, hailee steinfeld, john lithgow, and james spader. The homesman is a remarkable western delving into numerous social issues all but ignored by other films of the genre such as the role of marriage, the churchs role in society, womens role in.
The homesman by hilary swank, meryl streep, grace gummer. The homesman stars hilary swank and tommy lee jones. Book club discussion questions october 20, 2015 by sheila 7 comments while its always helpful if you can find reading guides for the precise title your book club is. Utilizing a classic western plota journey across rough land under perilous conditionsand a mismatched pair of protagonists wholl remind many readers of. Nov, 2014 set on the great plains in the mid1800s, the homesman aims for a story thats poignant and told sparely, but comes across as mawkish, tedious and selfindulgent.
The homesman is a dark, complex story of gender issues and changing conventions on the frontier, and in an era that sees this genre fading, jones has made a western winner. The homesman soundtrack list movie 2014 tracklist ost list listen to original score, theme music from the motion picture, film score list, the playlist of all of the songs played in the movie, who sings them, including end credits. The homesman 2014 plot summary 1 three women who have been driven mad by pioneer life are to be transported across the country by covered wagon by the pious, independentminded mary bee cuddy, who in turn employs lowlife drifter george briggs to assist her. Its an unusual story about four women who loose their minds after a hard winter in the nebraska territory in the 1850s. It was a what an odd and ultimately disappointing read this was. I think this was a labor of love for tommy lee jones, whomore because of its limited distribution, i was lucky to catch this at our local art theatre. The film stars jones and hilary swank and also features meryl streep, grace gummer, miranda otto, hailee steinfeld. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the homesman. Smitley is also a fantastic book on how to plot your story. Miranda otto at an event for the homesman 2014 melanie laurent at an event for the homesman 2014.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Hailed as a feminist western by some, the homesman only is up to a point. In the homesman 2014, mary bee hilary swank was the antithesis of a regular woman in 1850. She could plow, she could shoot, and she wasnt afraid to take on duties that other men shied away from.
A rare 21stcentury western without shootouts or explosions, the welldirected the homesman based on a novel by the author of the shootist paints a striking portrait of two. In nonfiction, the plot is the organization of information and how it. The homesman repeatedly takes risks with tone, pacing and plotting, some of which dont pay off, but jones gambles lasso our attention. Soon to be a major motion picture directed by tommy lee jones, the homesman is a devastating story of early pioneers in 1850s american west. The homesman by michael sragow on november, 2014 tommy lee jones, who reached a midcareer high in the coen brothers adaptation of cormac mccarthys no country for old men and later directed mccarthys novel in dramatic form, the sunset limited, for hbo, has made a movie that declares the nebraska territory in the. Fraught with plotting, chicanery, and assignations in mausoleums and arbors, this melodramatic mystery. Women are the center of the action, women drive the action forward, women are not only damsels in distress but heroic figures of grit and courage sometimes in the same. The homesman begins as an intriguingly revisionist and potentially feminist western. Spend six months trapped inside a dark sodhouse with sickly children, your food and firewood running low, and your nearest neighbor many miles away so you are forced to deliver your baby by. Complete summary of glendon swarthouts the homesman. Nov 12, 2014 a rare 21stcentury western without shootouts or explosions, the welldirected the homesman based on a novel by the author of the shootist paints a striking portrait of two. Hilary swank plays mary bee cuddy, a single homesteader in nebraska territory who volunteers to escort three severely mentally ill women back to iowa, after the harshness of the environment and the men in their lives has become too much for them to bear. Or else, midway through the book, you will look like this guy.
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