Cross Creek

Cross Creek

21/9/1983 2h 7m 6.6/10

Overview

In the 1930s, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings moves to Florida's backwaters to write in peace. She feels bothered by affectionate men, editors and confused neighbors, but soon she connects and writes The Yearling, a classic of American literature.

Director

Martin Ritt

Top Billed Cast

Joanna Miles

Joanna Miles

Mrs. Turner

Mary Steenburgen

Mary Steenburgen

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Rip Torn

Rip Torn

Marsh Turner

Peter Coyote

Peter Coyote

Norton Baskin

Alfre Woodard

Alfre Woodard

Geechee

Dana Hill

Dana Hill

Ellie Turner

Reviews

Wuchak

3/27/2019

7/10

***Decide what you want to do and then DO IT, come what may*** In 1928, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (Mary Steenburgen) in her early 30s moves to a blindly bought orange grove near the hamlet of Cross Creek, in northern Florida, which is located on a strip of land between two large lakes (Orange Lake and Lochloosa Lake). There she hopes to find the peace and privacy to launch her writing career. Peter Coyote plays a hotel owner from a nearby town that becomes fascinated by Marjorie while Alfre Woodard plays her maid. Rip Torn is on hand as an eccentric backwoodsman with Dana Hill appearing as his daughter who befriends a fawn. “Cross Creek” (1983) is a historical drama about the famous author of “The Yearling”; it’s also part wilderness drama. Shot on location in gorgeous Alachua & Marion Counties, the film’s worth watching just for the remote Floridian lushness. The theme is to die for as Marjorie DECIDES what she wants to do and then boldly (or stubbornly) DOES IT, come what may. Her first two short stories were published in 1931 and “The Yearling” in 1938, which won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction and was made into a movie in 1946. The boggy locations are similar to those in “Frogs” (1972) and “Swamp Thing” (1982) while the topic and themes are reminiscent of “The Whole Wide World” (1996) and “Sounder” (1972). If you favor the latter two movies and appreciate the locations of the former two, you’ll enjoy “Cross Creek.” The movie runs 2 hours, 7 minutes. GRADE: B/B+

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