Customer Reviews

The Locusts [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I saw this movie in a Store and it looked interesting and I liked the actors in it so I figured I would give it a Shot! Boy, was I BLOWN AWAY! Why havent I heard about this movie before? This Movie was EXCELLENT! It amazes me that some of the reviewers here didnt like it! The Story definatley has the same feel as a Tennessee Williams Story. It it hard to talk about the plot without giving too much away but I will say that the movie deals with the bond between two men who form an unlikely friendship! The way their friendship progresses in this film is so paced perfectly! The one man is trying to escape his past and in the meantime is trying to help his much weaker friend escape his present! The film deals with Deep Dark and Ugly Family Secrets(Very Ugly Secrets) and I will admit that this is No Feel Good movie! But, if you love great character driven dramas with an edge, this film is for you! I LOVED IT!

Stellar acting from a great ensemble and a plot that could have been written by Flannery O'Connor, Truman Capote and Erskine Caldwell during an all night drinking session. Only disappointment was the last 30 seconds of the film -- a Hollywood ending to a Southern Goth only leaves one wanting more.

The Locusts, is a fascinating psychological look at an abused woman as a child, has now become a master of abuse to her own son and oddly the young ranch hands that work for her. Kate Capshaw gives a haunting performance of a woman who loves,hates and needs her life to be a place where she can be the BOSS and the one who humiliates whoevever she wants to. She doesn't just castrate bulls. Vince Vaughn is not just another sexy ranch hand.He is a sensitive, caring human being who befriends her emotionally depressed and disturbed son. She learns that Vince Vaughn has a secret after he refuses her advances. Vaughn is vulnerable and strong. He gives an outstanding portrayal of a young man who finds love and friendship in an unlikely place. Well done!!!

A melodrama that must set a record for how many times the characters light cigarettes and sweat through their clothes. Vince Vaughn (an underrated and always interesting actor) gives another charismatic performance as a stranger who comes to a Southern town and stirs up the already disturbed locals. As you get toward the end, you can figure out what is going to happen, but the journey is bizarre enough to be interesting. For the female Vaughn fans, the steamy fully clothed "romance" scene between Vince and Ashley Judd's characters is worth the price of the video alone. Kate Capshaw's character is too over the top and there are some painfully obvious attempts at symbolism (bulls/steers). The DVD doesn't have anything extra on it.

Hollywood sometimes slips up and makes an excellent film. This is one of them. The beauty of the film is that it is never what you expect. The minute I saw Vaughn on the screen,I figured this was going to be a story about the usual "young drifter" having an affair with the lonely older woman, while secretly falling in love with the "girl next door." This is NOT that movie. Check it out.

Although the subject line is very dark and hopeless, the acting was over the top. I have never seen Vince Vaughn more beautiful and passionate... This is the first movie I saw him in and it caused me to want to see all his movies thereafter. Now, it seems, he is bent toward more comical and silly films. Still, in this movie he gives a performance full of presence. One might even compare him to a young Paul Newman or dare I say?.... even Brando? It must have been the 'wife beater' shirts...
Jeremy Davies plays the part of a broken [but gentle] man-child, with grace. His presence in each scene will only incite the most empathetic of all virtues from the viewer. Truly, I wanted only to save him and it was frustrating to see the tragic turn of events that was to seal his doom. It is my observation that Jeremy goes on to play many roles similar to this one.

Kate Capshaw is nothing less than brilliant and persuasive. She conveys the epitome of the evil human being; so full of selfishness; a soul completely absent of conscience; a mother completely devoid of maternal feelings... "Mommy Dearest" will seem like a walk in the park compared to Kate's character.

I believe this movie is worth watching. The lack of hope and the onslaught of sorrow might have you feeling empty; much the way reading, "The Grapes of Wrath" may make you feel, but it's truly a movie that deserved a closer look. I can't imagine why this isn't to become one on the list of classics.

I disagree with the criticisms that others have given this movie in the previous reviews. The attempts at compassion and befriending may be shallow (and indeed they are) but they are no different than those attempts in the movie "Of Mice and Men". There is reason for this, I believe. The strength is in the main characters and their own private hell... no so much in their intamacy with each other.

If you are a Tennessee Williams fan, The Locusts is a "must have" film for your collection. No, it's not by Tennessee Williams, but it might as well be.

Certainly owing a great debt to the masterful Southern playwright, this film has all the elements of one of Williams' plays. There's the heat, the rural locale, the unspoken mystery, the sexy male drifter and the faded Southern belle.

The Locusts takes place in the 1950's. With the arrival of a drifter, (Vince Vaughn), life changes for many residents of the small town. He gets hired on by the local feed ranch's owner, an aging drunken widow (Kate Capshaw). Clay, the drifter, quickly becomes her new lover, and in the process, also befriends her quiet teen aged son "Flyboy" (Jeremy Davies). The boy hasn't spoken a word in years and is completely withdrawn since the death of his father. He only speaks to his pet bull. Clay tries to get the boy out of his shell, much to the chagrin of the boy's mother. Clay doesn't understand what's going on, but soon it is all revealed and Clay realizes he's stumbled into a hornet's nest.

The acting is superb and the craftsmanship of the film is excellent. Ashley Judd and Paul Rudd also appear in smaller, but pivotal roles. This is a fine film.

I still swear it has to be a Williams' play.....

I have a thing about Ashley Judd. She is one of my favorite actresses so it's not surprising that I look for her movies. Last night I watched `The Locusts,' a slow moving movie of high drama set in rural Missouri and of course featuring Ashley Judd as Kitty, who was actually supporting actress to, Kate Capshaw who played Delilah Ashford Potts.

The way the story goes, the widow Potts owns Ashford farm, a cattle feed farm, employing many of the area's young men and occasionally taking one of them as her lover.

Clay Hewitt (Vince Vaughn), a drifter, is hired by Potts, who has plans for him but he takes up instead with Kitty. He also makes friends with his boss's twenty-one year old mute son, Flyboy (Jeremy Davies) and with persistence begins to bring him out of his shell.

Reputedly, thirteen year old Flyboy found his father hanging from a tree and had been institutionalized until recently, where he went home and became the cook. Flyboy wouldn't talk and performed his duties with his gaze diverted and the widow Pott's seemed to like it that way. When Clay befriended her son, Pott's seemed to resent it and started to do mean things. This ultimately ended in tragedy.

Conclusion
Although the story didn't particularly grab me, there was some damn good acting here. No not from my sweetheart Ashley Judd, though she did alright. Both Vince Vaughn and Jeremy Davies played their characters to a tee and put on great performances. Even Paul Rudd did his character proud.
The story centered around Flyboy and Clay's efforts to get him to open up. Fly boy ostensibly discovered his has father hanging from a tree after committing suicide. The alleged reason he killed himself was that he once often found his serial adulteress wife in his bed with a lover.
Neither the plot, story, time period (late 50's) or setting were particularly compelling for me. Nevertheless, the movie was well directed, the cast was well chosen and they did a commendable job. Final rating 3.5 stars, rounded up.

I decided to watch this one night on Showtime 2 because, hey, it was late and I like Vince Vaughn's acting alot. I watched it and liked it alot. A good movie that sneaks up on you and surprises. Then I watched it again. Even better. I began to like the characters, notice the fine cinmetography and score. Then another time. Let me just say this, The Locusts grows on you. Im not saying its a masterpiece, but its an excellent film that has alot going for it. Vaughn and Jeremy Davies are excellent. Im very interested in what this first-time writer/director John Patrick Kelly does next. This film grows on you. I find myself watchin this movie two or three times a month. Its a really good film that deserves to be seen.

THE LOCUSTS is an extraordinary movie, what will
please the viewers, from the originality of the
story, and from the harmonious mix of actors chosen. It's
the story of how everyone is unique, each person has their own
strengths and weaknesses, life experiences, social
pressures and too often, people have only a limited
road on which they can walk, on the path of Life and Work.

Clearly, Vince Vaughn is at his best in this movie,
feeling at ease and natural in the role of an "older
brother" to another individual, who is stigmatized,
psychologically impaired, and physically disabled, named Flyboy.

The character is played convincingly by Jeremy Davies, who
perhaps some may underestimate, considering the later valuable role in
Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. Kate Capshaw, does a fine job.

Some have noted the manic, omnipresent "smoking" of this
movie, which defies explanation. Perhaps it's just a
device that was seen as having worked well in the
earlier movie, with Judd too, SMOKE, perhaps the director decided
to employ it in LOCUSTS as well.

The most difficult to believe part, is when Vaughn, a
total stranger to a small town, hooks up, and gets hired
on the basis of one beer, in the local tavern. However,
for the remainder of the movie, all the scenes are
extremely believable and the story unfolds convincingly, thus
captivating the viewers' attentions.

Overall, what makes this movie succeed, is the charm and
"utopia" of another time and space, perhaps 200 years ago,
of a small town, in rural America, aside from the
tragic, and insidious story underpinning how Flyboy's
humanity was destroyed as a child, for example. Other aspects
that many will find interesting, is the libido between
Vaughn and the girls on the farm, including Ashley Judd,
the unease felt by the other men feel in face of all of this, the
tension of a new hired hand joining the group, learning
an entirely new, and unappetizing profession, and more.

LOCUSTS simply takes the viewer on a trip for 90 minutes,
and as such is a valuable addition to a collection. Judd's
presence simply makes the movie even more appealing.