Scanialara
You won't be disappointed!
TaryBiggBall
It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.
Murphy Howard
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
SnoopyStyle
In 1955, a dam is soon going to flood the town of Northfork. Walter O'Brien (James Woods) and his son Willis O'Brien (Mark Polish) are two of people brought in to push the last hold-outs to evacuate the town. They have convince a religious family unwilling to leave. Father Harlan (Nick Nolte) is staying behind to take care of sickly orphan Irwin who shows signs of being an angel.The whole movie is stuck in an unmoving dream state. It's hard to follow the kid's narrative because it's all so surreal. Daryl Hannah is fascinating but WTF is she? It lacks tension because it's obviously something unreal. The evacuation crew is a little easier to invest in and the God discussion is oddly fascinating. I've certainly heard that story before which makes the awkward telling rather memorable. I wouldn't recommend this for the casual movie goer. It's a little weird.
mtomm
this film could have been great. it's visually stunning and very well-casted, but it screams of wanting into the polanski / lynch / cronenberg camp. it's kind of like watching a kid jump up and down yelling "i'm cool too!".the story has great potential, but is poorly told. i found the timing very troublesome and a few more hours with a storyboard could have helped immensely.i found a lot of the kind of obtuse allusion that can result in overkill; especially the dog.some very successful imagery, though. i found the scenes towards the beginning of the film concentrating on the excavated graves very moving. all in all, a film with a lot of potential that is poorly realized.
Serge_Zehnder
Judging from the reviews about Northfork the truth about the quality of it seems to lie somewhere between art-house masterpiece and pretentious crap.To suggest that anyone should see this movie would be just as foolish as to say, anyone has to see any specific movie. It is also completely unfair to consider this movie utter crap. (I submit to you to watch a movie by Albert Pyun and then have another look at Northfork).It is certainly not an easy sell. The layers, or threads, of the various stories are not fully tide up, but it appears that was never the intention. The film, like the old daguerotype pictures shown at the beginning of the movie, represents the lost and maybe even forgotten spirit of the American Frontier. A rather ambivalent story of course, given the fact that it coincided with the genocide of an entire people. And yet, this spirit of the frontier is something that lies at the very core of the American Dream, this mythical belief, that to this day seems to drive those former colonies forward.But I'm getting sidetracked. Yes, aside from the wonderful visual craft, the beautiful score, the acting, which I felt to be very in tune, this film contains elements from movies made by filmmakers that were mentioned by other users in their reviews. (see Cocteau, Godard, Burton, Lynch etc.). But my guess is, and whoever reads this, it's really just a guess, Michael and Mark Polish weren't interested in copying any one of those marvelous directors, but saw that beneath what developed into the USA, lay stories of people who were now forgotten, who were swept away by the tides of time and progress. There was a clash of values and (in the case of Northfork) literally power. Where there was a farming community there is now a neon-highlighted shopping mall, and where there were people there are now only ghosts of ideals past.Which turns this motion picture into a smashing fairytale, a wonderful ghost story in the best sense of the word. An array of images and moods, and maybe even more substance that one might think. But then, that is another matter, and is truly to be judged individually.
sailor-35
i happen to be surfing through on a Sunday morning and got in just as the movie was starting. it grabbed me immediately, it was one of those scenes where the mountains of Montana background let you know right away this is not a "ninja, action feature" movie we have been inundated with over the last 3 years.The back & forth between the groups was engaging and kept my mind focused. the little clues/hints also kept me on edge. all of the actors played their roles really well. all were believable. all were giving to their roles. from the farmer that nailed himself to his front porch, to Irwin, to nolte the priest, i really respected the acting.yet, the movie never came together? there were too many loose ends left lying on the floor. i appreciate a movie that keeps the audience thinking and probing, but isn't it the writer & directors role to give their audience some closure? were the polish brothers trying to do a 2001 on us? if so, even 2001 gave us much more closure at the end than this film.i will look forward to their next film. they are on the right track. this was a movie we need more of. i am sick & tired of boobs & bombs and hyped up acting presented as a blockbuster. northfork is a good effort and i agree with others, how was this movie left off the cinematography list of the year's best?
