Excellent but underrated film

Best movie of this year hands down!

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

There are several very good points to "O Pioneers!" that are partially drowned under miscasting and stilted dialogue. Heather Graham (who plays the younger version of Jessica Lange's character) is the worst of the lot. Even the more talented actors sometimes struggle to get the words out. There are far too many cases throughout where unnecessarily complicated lines are forced to be delivered in a way that is anything but natural. It's too bad that this is the only major flaw, because the constant re-occurrence of the issue is the only thing that keeps "O Pioneers!" from being a great film.Jessica Lange is certainly the best thing here. The emotion and power with which she imbues her character is palpable. David Strathairn, who is one of my favorite actors, is given much less to work with. He tries his best, but the character is written too coldly to truly come to life. The absolute stand-out performance, however, is that of Tom Aldredge. His depiction of Ivar is amusing, alive, deep and absolutely human. Most of the other actors live up to standard, save for the aforementioned dialogue issues.Glenn Jordan directs quite nicely, but it's less his sensibility than the eye of cinematographer Dick Bush that makes "O Pioneers!" so visually appealing. Bush captures a washed-out world of warm-pale greens, blues, and sepia tones that fill you with a sense of longing and overwhelming calm. This film has something in common both visually and thematically with Jordan's film of the previous year, "Sarah, Plain and Tall". That movie is ultimately more consistent and satisfying that this one. I couldn't say there's any reason for me to watch "O Pioneers!" a second time, but it was a meaningful experience in spite of the flaws. It has much to say about contentment and the search for home. You should gain something from it.

I had never read the novel before so I was coming into this movie cold. While I understood that the basis for the story was about a woman's learning to love and respect the land, I nonetheless found it to be quite the little snoozefest. Thanks much for tipping me off that it was faithful to Willa Cather's novel (which I won't be buying anytime soon unless I happen to go through another bout of insomnia).For a much more entertaining movie about a woman's love for the land, pop Gone With the Wind into your DVD player. Give me the emotional Irish any day of the week next to the "stoic" Swedes. It actually took a hotheaded German capping off some rounds into a couple of lovers before anyone expressed a little emotion.What truly surprised me was how actors as talented as Jessica Lange and David Strathairn generated absolutely no chemistry together. I'm guessing that Strathairn's character, Carl, the sensitive, caring artist was actually gay trying to pass for straight. That would certainly explain their gentle platonic friendship.

I was expecting a better movie. It just wasn't that touching, and the story was not entertaining. And the scenery wasn't that great. Heather Graham uses a horrible accent. I guess the plot of this film was a young Alexandra takes over her family's land when their dad dies. She tells her brothers they will stick together and the farm will grow. Cut to 20 years later, and we saw how the farm has grown. They grow a lot and have a big house. A subplot involves the younger brother, Emil, who falls for a married woman. Tragedy ensues, surprise, surprise! The end of the film deals with Alexandra getting together with an old friend. So, she has a life other than the farm. Sounds really exciting, uh? Not! FINAL VERDICT: I don't recommend this because it is too boring.

I have yet to see a film that follows its original version so well. More often than not books and movies of the same story, just don't match up. In this case the people are just as alive and able to pull at your heart strings either source and follow each other to perfection. Some of the actors are in a new genre than what we are used to seeing them in, but it all adds to a wonderful effect when they pull off their parts so well. This movie captures Willa Cather's book well and I highly reccommend it to any who love her stories. This is a wonderful film!