Customer Reviews

Barn Burning

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The film is approx. 40 minutes and does a decent job of putting Faulkner's work on screen. Some of the stream-of-consciousness is conveyed through voice-overs, which may provide a good talking point with students.

Tommy Lee Jones is a perfect Abner Snipes, in fact, I don't think I could picture him any other way.

The downside is that it is rather boring, though I truly don't know how it could be spiced up, since it does stay true to the story.

I plan to show it intermittently as we read the text, as students really struggle with it. I do believe it will be helpful.

My opinion:
My class agreed that this didn't capture the power of the actual short story. That may be impossible to do, actually. Somehow the film lacks the depth and charged darkness of the text.

This 1980 short made-for-TV film might be small in size but it sure is big on impact. It was adapted from a short story by William Faulkner and takes place in Mississippi, when the Civil was still a living memory and family loyalty was unquestioned. Tommy Lee Jones, in an outstanding performance is cast as the father in a troubled family which has had to move many times because of his propensity for acts of revengeful violence. When the film opens he is on trial in a country store for burning the barn of a neighbor because of some disagreement regarding a hog. His teenage son, brilliantly played by Shawn Whitting is called to the witness stand but before he can be questioned, the judge refuses to intimidate the boy and simply rules that Tommy Lee Jones and his family must leave town.

The film really gets into the time and the place. The wagon is rickety, the family is weary and their poverty is obvious. They are now to become sharecroppers in another area and, when they arrive at their new home, the father and son go to visit the rich man they will be working for. The story then gets more complex as Tommy Lee Jones makes predicable choices. How it all turns out is the stuff of high drama. Mostly, questions are raised about family loyalty and moral questions of right and wrong. I was completely enhanced by the story, the fine acting, and the inevitable outcome. When it ended it left me with an echo and inspired me to read some more of Faulkner which I had dismissed in the past.

I used this film to enhance the teaching of Faulkner's story in my American Lit class. It follows the story and gives a reasonable interpretation of the characters. Tommy Lee Jones' depiction of Abner Snopes came off less aggressive than some of my students expected. That gave us some good material for discussion of characterization. I didn't buy the movie because I was able to stream it to my classroom. If I use it again, I'll buy it.

A cruel man (Tommy Lee Jones) has a habit of furtively seeking "vengeance" on those he considers to have treated him unfairly, often burns their barns to conclude the feuds. His son Sarty (Shawn Whittington), roughly fifteen, is morally opposed to such actions but also desires his dad's acceptance. In the end, the lad must pick between his conscience and family. Which will it be? A nicely done yet somewhat bleak story based on the William Faulkner short.