Watch The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio For Free

Sadly Over-hyped

Fantastic!

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

This film isn't about anything of Earth-shattering importance, except to the real-life family whose story it tells. In it are many fine examples of how a wonderful woman, and loving, long-suffering, wife and mother, made things happen for her family, raising 10 happy and successful children, in spite of serious trials. Not only that, but she manages to keep smiling and looking at the bright side, through all but the most difficult. It's acted very well, although I will say that I found Woody Harrelson, as the father, in a red wig, pulled it down, in a few spots. I don't think the problem was his performance, I just don't think he was especially suited to the role.Overall, this film is VERY well worth the time to watch it!

I am sure this film was very popular with a certain segment of the U.S. population during the post-911 Bush Era. I am also sympathetic to the children of the protagonist who felt the need to participate in a testimonial to their mother. I certainly mean no disrespect for Evelyn Ryan's personal legacy. Julianne Moore did the job well. However, I have known many children of Evelyn and Kelly Ryans who are of my generation. They live with the open wounds of this kind of family upbringing even in their 60's and 70's. While some of these women may have found happiness and some form of peace with their choices, it is a massive leap to exonerate them for making those choices for their children. It is also a massive leap to ignore the disservice they did to the role of women in American society. The glossing over of Kelly's nasty alcoholism is rather unforgivable. He was obviously a violent drunk. While it was not portrayed through the Vaseline lens of this movie, I would wager that child abuse and wife beating were part of the story. I feel this qualifies this film as propaganda for alcoholic denial and the denial of domestic abuse in favor of religiosity and enabling. This is the basis for my low rating.

I watched THE PRIZEWINNER OF DEFIANCE, OHIO on DVD two nights ago and was deeply moved by it. Yesterday, as I had my sister (58) and my aunt (77) visiting for the day, I suggested that we watch it together and both of them were also very taken by the film. I think most people, and especially women who lived through the fifties and sixties, can relate to the story of this American family. The whole era is brought back to us in a very intelligent and accurate way, giving us images that are historically correct, often amusing and quite emotionally charged at times. The director must be praised for her masterful adaptation of the original novel and sensitive rendition of the screenplay in cinematic terms. Superb art direction and cinematography make meaningful contributions to the overall quality of the film. The cast is uniformly excellent even to the smallest parts. Woody Harrelson and Julianne Moore are nothing short of outstanding in their respective roles. This is a film that should find a wider audience, given the beauty of its message and its quiet, honest and highly effective emotional content.

Yet another highly rated film on IMDb that makes me realize people crave over-sentimental, simplified Hollywood "this movie is based on a real story" junk. I'm a huge Julianne Moore fan (and loved her in The Hours and Far From Heaven, two much better films where she also explored the niche of the retro mom. Here the script left her without much to do.Woody Harrelson's over-the-top, padded pot-bellied father is a performance that would better fit on Saturday Night Live. It's cartoonish and clumsy, and certainly doesn't help the film to achieve any kind of resonance.Movies have tried this kind of glossy nostalgia about parents from the kid's eye view much better before. Compare this to Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story. It seemed fresh and funny, also with voice over narration, but NOT with the jaw droppingly clumsy device of Julianne Moore walking through the film as "ghost mom". I was shaking my head in disbelief at the early scenes of Julianne Moore cuddling up to...Julianne Moore. Man, maybe it would have been ever better with THREE Julianne Moores! The ghost of Julianne Moore Past, The ghost of Julianne Moore PRESENT and the ghost of Julianne Moore YET TO COME.I know i'll be chastised and vilified by all the previous posters who "loved" this film. But so be it. It was a painful 96 minutes, and if I can save a few people the rental fee, I've done my job. PASS ON THIS ONE. I'm sure Woody and Julianne have already buried it in their filmographies. There's a reason it disappeared fast...trust me.