Watch Main Street For Free

So much average

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I was waiting for some kind of clever liberal message, as I do with almost everything I watch these days. I didn't really detect one. It's about an Operations Manager for a Hazardous Waste disposal company. I don't know why the guy would have to travel all the way to Durham, NC for a warehouse and ultimately a processing center, but I guess there is only so much room in his home state of Texas. You probably know the story. This guy sets up these waste disposal centers in cities that could use the work and the revenue. He encounters some locals who then encounter each other.As other reviewers have pointed out, Durham is not a small dying city. It has a couple hundred thousand people and is part of a thriving region. But this picture could have been set at an earlier time. There are no computers or smart phones, so maybe it is supposed to be earlier than 2010, although there is no indication of that.Anyways, it is not about any of this. It's about hope, transition, renewal, and fear. Most importantly, it's about ordinary people. Having said that, these actors did an excellent job with the material. I too don't understand why they need to give the work to two Brits, but they did well.As other reviewers have mentioned, you keep waiting for the Colin Firth character to turn into a slime, but he doesn't. He is genuine. The best part is when the young woman calls her ex-boyfriend a "loser" for staying in town and accepting a potentially humble life. You could see that a part of her meant it, and that he was deeply hurt, but also that she didn't really want to hurt anyone, and didn't fully believe what she said.I loved the way they portrayed the ex high school sweethearts. Faced with the girl leaving town, the guy tells her straight out that he loves her and always has. That's what you have to do. Stake your claim. She reciprocated.Ellen Burstyn could have easily relied on clichés, but she didn't. Her facial expressions and reactions set her performance apart from that. I don't get the ending. I won't give it away, but it seems like the guy is admitting that he was never comfortable doing what he does to begin with. He fooled me.What a bizarre concept for a movie. That's why I like it. Because there is potential intrigue in the most mundane of circumstances. The main character mentions that a city's fate is dependent on how its' residents look at it. The same thing goes for a movie plot. You can turn a seemingly boring circumstance into something compelling with good writing, settings, and performances. They did that adequately here.

I cannot say anything about the truth regarding the real location of this tender story of how city life has changed for some. What I see is one person's point of view in how this story was told and can only judge by what I see on screen. I was taken in immediately by the magnificent Ellen Burstyn's performance as the now broke tobacco heiress whose father once knew Doris Duke's father, the tobacco king of the first part of the 20th Century. Having reviewed the TV movie "Too Rich: The Doris Duke Story" and watched it several times since, this gave me an insight to the tobacco industry I only recall from one other film-"Bright Leaf", which I also have reviewed.The story of how community in her town has changed in Burstyn's lifetime is a metaphor of what the aging must see in this age of constant advancement in technology, changes in the way people communicate, and the break-up of the family unit. There is a sadness in all of these character's eyes, even though they are basically all nice people. When Burstyn explains her family history to the Mexican guard at the warehouse she owns and has leased to Colin Firth, I could see why he couldn't help but be interested. She is the walking proof of the existence of a simpler life when a beautiful day in the country could lead to a family picnic in the woods, a concert in the local park, and the simple gathering of townsfolk celebrating America. The sadness is as equal in niece Patricia Clarkson's eyes as she realizes what she's lost early on in her life. The presence of Nuclear Waste in her Aunt's warehouse is simply the fly in the ointment of their lives.There really isn't a lot of plot here. In fact, it could be called a modern day "The Mad Woman of Chailot", the French play about an eccentric countess who battles the government over oil under Paris. But not every movie or play or TV show needs to throw its story in your face like a parking ticket. But it is an exercise in looking at today's world and the antipathy towards society that keeps growing. I highly recommend it for the wonderful performances, its subtle nature and gentility, and especially for the fact that it simply makes you think.On a casting note, it was nice to see Broadway veterans Victoria Clark, Tom Wopat and Margo Martindale in small roles.

As previous reviewers have synopsized the plot, I will not do that. The number of negative reviews is surprising, especially since most of those have no clue what this movie is about. And, their lack of insight is what leads them to think it is simple and uninteresting. Nothing could be further from the truth for movie-goers who are more interested in humanity than in over-wrought drama (e.g., serial killers, absurd disasters, cartoonish fantasies, etc., etc. -- save me from "Hollywood")that offer no real insight into our humanity.Here is what this movie is about: the "hazardous waste" is pure metaphor for our fears: our fears of the future, of technology, of the unknown. The question this movie poses so clearly and powerfully is: how should we confront the fear of the future, which is inevitably one of confronting the nature of what our humanity involves: technology and change? And, it does have an answer, with which I could not agree more -- and with which I would hope anyone watching this movie would also, easily or not, come to agree.Just as "To Kill a Mockingbird" was about our fears of others who are unknown to us and with whom we have no real experience, this movie asks us how we react to the unknown: Do we flee, or do we stand and make something out of whatever it is we have? The heroes in this movie do the latter and show those who would do otherwise the way forward ... which is what the best in our humanity always does, after all.Orlando Bloom's character's mother (Mrs. Parker) and his erstwhile girlfriend's mother (Miriam) are afraid of the future and want to withdraw, hunker down. They have no will for their children to overcome. Orlando Bloom's character deals with the uncertain future by working hard to make something good of it. His girlfriend's character wants to run away.Ellen Burstyn's character is caught in the middle of a dilemma: trust the unknown that offers progress and salvation, or give in to something safely predictable by selling out. In the end, she let's go of what is truly in the past (her home) and embraces what it is that offers hope for the future (the warehouse).When our cities, our lives, our civilizations appear to be crumbling, what works: retreating from the challenge? Or, embracing new, uncertain, potentially scary things (metaphorically -- yes, metaphorically -- represented by nuclear waste)? This movie deals powerfully with those who would point to every "problem" on the way to the future (e.g., Fukushima) as a reason to retreat rather than as a lesson to learn, a problem to overcome. It basically says: accidents will happen: some good, some bad; get over it by learning from them and moving on. Imagine humanity retreating in the face of all the disasters it has encountered on the way to its current future? We would be still chipping flint with a lifespan of less than 30 difficult years.Yes, this movie makes plain that Luddites are much to be feared, as are those who believe that "corporations" are bad and industry is almost certainly hiding are all sorts of horrible things. Instead, this movie says that we humans are, on balance, good. If we do not give in to our fears we can overcome those among us who would give in. By moving ahead (not by retreating or running away) we can overcome the challenges we create for ourselves because our very nature is to overcome. We are tool makers. We are proactive. We want good things for our children. Those who are destructive among us are a minority and will be overcome. But, do not fear what we are. Do not fear technology. Do not fear the way we organize our abilities to trade our best efforts with each other (i.e., industry, corporations, technology, progress).Typical "Hollywood types" will not like this film because it counters every one of their most cherished beliefs: that Western Civilization, in its current most fully-realized form, is almost certainly bad for the humanity in us. Instead, it shows that our humanity is most realized when we trust ourselves to use our knowledge to give us what it will. After all, we (and I mean all 7 billion of us) would not be living longer, more satisfying, more comfortable lives than our predecessors in the 18th or 19th centuries had we not done so before now.Beyond the point of the movie, the plot is one that could not be more satisfying in its simplicity or more poignant. These are real people leading real lives that many among us have led. No serial killers, no absurd global calamities, no over-dramatic nonsense. Just real people facing difficult human emotions and choices and helping each other through them. I can see why these fine actors decided to work in this film. Each of the actors delivers powerful performances: Ellen Burtsyn has never been better. My heart ached as she dithered about what to do with her life, both past, present, and future. Colin Firth was perfect in presenting the face of the future: shining with promise, but making us wonder nonetheless. Can we trust him? Until we realize the real question is: can we trust ourselves? Orlando Bloom shows us why it is so hard for those who believe in themselves and believe in the future to soldier on, despite so many disbelievers around, especially among loved-ones.I could go, but the cast was magnificent and did the screenplay such justice. Horton Foote, despite his age, was at the height of his story-telling prowess. If you like real people; if you like movies that are real about humanity, then you will like "Main Street."

A few first things first. One. What were these very fine actors thinking, appearing in this movie? All due respect to the great Horton Foote, but, honestly.... Did anyone read the script beforehand? Or was it originally good and then cut back to the shell of a story that this movie became? Two. The Southern accents of its two British leads, Colin Firth and Orlando Bloom. Much has been written and criticized about them. I am a Texan. I had no problem with either of these actors' renditions of Texas and North Carolina accents respectively. I have known north Texas guys who sounded very much like the twangy, nasally Mr. Firth. That said, Bloom carries off this requirement with much more ease, in my view. My quarrel is in the casting, or MIS-casting, of Mr. Firth in the first place. If they needed a big, tall, good-looking guy who happened to be Texan, I think maybe there are several American actors who could have filled that bill. Or, in view of the BP oil spill, he could have convincingly remained British. (Though I think this movie's filming preceded that tragedy. It also was filmed prior to Firth's triumphant roles in "The King's Speech" and I would think "A Single Man" as well.)The other actors/actresses, who are all fine in their own right, were woefully underused. These actors struggle mightily against a truly tepid plot. No one comes off really well because there is no there, there. Stories are truncated or non-existent, or simply have some sort of quick resolution which no part of the story leads to in the first place. I won't go into detail about the plot of this movie, since it is so thin, but I would imagine a Lifetime cable movie with unknown actors could have pulled this off equally well. In brief: Big bad company and its big bad Texas rep comes to a small town where a sweet cop, his sorta sweetheart, an old lady and her niece, and a sad city council all strive to keep their lives going in a dying town. Texan, Gus, offers rewards and happiness in return for storing, y'know, a few lil' ol' barrels of bad stuff in the old lady's warehouse, which he has leased.I won't go into the nutty notion of grown children living with their parents and there being maybe a problem for them getting out on their own. Or the change of heart Gus gets in the blink of an eye to help wrap this thing up -- dust off hands -- the end.I am a fan of Firth, Bloom, Tamblyn, Burstyn and Clarkson and wishing this had never come their way or that they had chosen not to appear in it. My only guess is, they felt it had the potential to be something very good and they ended up participating in something they may not want to mention in the catalog of their individual careers.