Review of Rambling Rose (1991) by Ice R — 19 Mar 2009

Entertaining but uneven period drama from director Martha Coolidge. Excellent performances - Laura Dern, Robert Duvall, and Diane Ladd are all in top form. The story is hit or miss; it moves too fast in the beginning and, though it does have a number of strong moments, it sometimes feels rushed and muddled (Calder Willingham adapted his own novel, possibly compressing it a bit too much, a bit more subtlety would have been more effective) and it is hampered by a hokey framing device with an incredibly cheesy final scene.

But ultimately, it's worth watching for the performances alone. Strong, if sometimes over-the-top, score by Elmer Bernstein.