Customer Reviews

A Painted House

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having listened to this book on tape, my husband and I were delighted to see that Hallmark Hall of Fame had turned this wonderful story into a film. We were not disappointed.

This story takes place in Arkansas and is set in September of 1952. The Chandler family owns a farm. They grow cotton and hire both, Mexican migrant workers and Hill people, to pick their crop. The two groups clash when they meet on the Chandler farm. The story is told by 10 year old Luke Chandler. Logan Lerman gave a memorable performance as Luke. The entire cast was good, and we also enjoyed Scott Glenn in the role of Luke's grandfather.

John Grisham's books are always captivating, but this is my favorite. I wish that he would write more stories like this one. It gave us a look at America in a different era when baseball was an American past time and families worked together for a common goal. It also showed the relationship between the farmers and migrant workers who shared the responsibility of harvesting the cotton.

most reviewers think they need to write an essay comparrison between the book and movie. I am simply going to review the movie. It was great and very heartwarming. A good family classic to have. Good values and a great glimpse into southern life. Too bad movies today don't have the same wholesome storyline that A Painted House does.

I was curious about this film because I had recently read - and enjoyed - the book by John Grisham. And well, yes, the book IS better, but who would expecte anything else? The movie version still is very good indeed, the acting was good. Scott Glenn played the grandfather very convincingly and Logan Lerman gave a promising performance as young Luke Chandler. These two worked well together and they are the main characters. Although some slight story adaptations were made, the film still stays true to the book (John Grisham himself was involved in the project). There should have been a little more focus on the character of Cowboy, since his part in the story got bigger towards the end and only little background about the developing conflict between him and Hank Spruill (a very good performance by Pablo Schreiber as the angry young man) was really given - whereas in the book the conflict builds gradually. The final - and fatal - fight between the two also differs from the book version, but the way it starts here was probably necessary to make it work (see my comment about the lack of development). Apart from a few minor upsets, this is a fine and entertaining film.

I haven't read the book, but as a movie, I was really impressed. Logan Lerman really shines, he really puts life into Luke. I really enjoyed getting lost into this movie and the acting made it easy to feel what they were feeling. A wonderful movie about a boy dealing with life, problems, yet still being a kid, a farm family trying to survive. I've found that when books are turned into movies, they often have many differnces from the books, so I try to view the movie separate from the book on it's own terms. The Painted House tells a story, and has feeling. Perfect, no, enjoyable, definately!!

An excellent movie breathing life into the story and characters as depicted in John Grisham's story.
I loved the book and this film really does it justice. A must have for any John Grisham fans.

When I first saw this on TV I really like it, probably because it is a coming of age story. Coming of age stories are good because they make you aware of how you came to be a certain way as an adult.
A Painted House I felt when I saw it allows you to see how different life can be for others. My life growing up was nothing like those in this film and actually I couldn't really identify with any of the characters.
Everyone knows that opposites attract and that is the only reason I can explain for liking this movie.
Also the story is told from the youngest boy's point of view and that added something special to the narrative structure because the storyteller is looking back on his childhood.
That's another reason I enjoyed it, I love movies about writers, even though A Painted House had nothing to do with writing in its story; I still enjoyed that element that the boy would grow up to be a writer. Most people are unaware of the writer's creative process and just seeing this kid picking cotton and watching fights and going to five-cent matinees and knowing he grows up to be a writer made me watch a little more careful to see how that creative process began.

It keeps you thinking. It has a great theme of family and closeness. The story of one boy and his families hardships living by the river.

Excellent film. Something that not only could happen, but probably did. Tough times and how people dealt with hardships. Scott Glenn did a superb job. The boy learned valuable lessons quickly.

Having read and enjoyed the novel, I found the video to be excellent. It closely followed the novel.
Probably best suited to those 'near seniors' who can relate more easily to the setting time of the 1950's!

Simply put, A Painted House was the best Grisham work to date. Perhaps I feel so since it hit so close to home. I was raised in Kansas during the 40's and have fond memories of spending evenings on the front porch with my parents with my dad's radio sitting in the window so we could listen to the local baseball game.

A Painted House captured the time, the place and the emotions of rural America during some of its best and worst years. The Korean War capped the 50's with so few of us having any idea where this peninsula was and why America was fighting over it.

At the same time, Grisham beautifully captured the strengths of an extended American family scratching to not just survive, but to find some simple rewards for their efforts.

I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a look at rural America before TV, the internet and all the trappings of today's world. A time when family provided much more than just a house.

I very seldom read a book twice but A Painted House got a second look.