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There’s a certain kind of sadness behind
every minute of “The Prize Winner,” and it’s mainly due to the
commentary on the times. At first, I was going to write this off as a
simple neo-feminist tirade, but in actuality it’s about role confusion
in a society that once placed men in a higher echelon over women. Due to
mere circumstances, Evelyn Ryan is a woman who is witty, clever,
optimistic, and priceless in her ability to create wonderful writing and
simply can’t help who she is. Her husband Kelly hates her for it,
because she’s the absolute bread winner in the household, and he can
barely find a job. “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio,” based on a true
story, is much better than I originally perceived it as, and that’s also
because of Julianne Moore who is very good as Evelyn, the utterly
enduring woman who has to keep up with her children, and flexes her
ingenuity quite often. What’s most interesting about her depiction of
this rather brilliant woman is that she repels any negativity or
inherent criticisms from Kelly who feels threatened by her, and lets it
wash off of her. He hurls insults, tries his damndest to ruin her good
time, and she just ignores him and continues on.
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And yet, Kelly is still
kept a rather sympathetic character, in spite of his often
antagonistic personality. A singer ruined by an accident,
he’s often forced to endure the fact that he can’t provide
for the family as well as he can, and the children sadly
pick up on this, often undermining him, or blaming him for
accidents. Ellen Porterfield is another highlight as the
Evelyn's often loyal daughter Tuff who stands by her mother
and watches the misery happen without any ability to help.
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The film shifts the narrative to her focus
quite often and never loses a hitch in doing so, and that's because
Porterfield handles the role like a pro. Anderson directs the film with
a wry wit often painting Evelyn’s world of creativity as one of bright
pastels, and opportunities, while her life at home is often filled with
pit stops, and rather unstoppable obstacles the poor often experience.
Moore is a pure vision and embodies this woman who will not let life
beat her down into a rotten shell. And I rather enjoyed the adventures
of this woman to keep her optimism at grasp in the face of the many
turmoil's that come her way. I was ready to dislike this, but it’s a
charming and surprisingly wrenching little drama about surviving in a
world that will beat you down if you let it.
One of the plot points never confirmed about
the prize winning Evelyn experiences is, what about the IRS? It’s often
known that winning a large prize can often bring about the presence of
the IRS who comes for taxes on said prizes, and in the process of Evelyn
winning cars, trips, and whatnot, we’re never told of such an
interesting plot device that could have garnered more trouble for the
family. In spite of that, “The Prize Winner…” is an occasionally cheesy
little movie, especially in scenes of correspondence with Evelyn and her
friends across the country who take up the same hobbies she does. The
scenes, played more for creativity, often fall flat, and will induce of
an eye roll or two.
In spite of some cheese and camp, "The Prize Winner..." was a big
surprise for me. It's a sweet, and utterly endearing drama that
highlights a brilliant woman's life with Moore as a standout in what is
surprisingly a heartbreaking tale about life.
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