Back Roads (1981)

What a profoundly beautiful film I just saw. It's a romance along with some dark situational drama that goes along perfectly.The film is the tale of a middle-aged sex worker Amy Post(Sally Field) and a drifter and ex-boxer Elmore Pratt(Tommy Lee Jones)who gets the occasional boxing match in the places he visits.The film tells the story of how these two characters meets and from that single encounter will form a bond that will last forever. As I have already said it is a beautiful film and I am a romantic at heart.Martin Ritt a seasoned director, really makes us feel that we are in the middle of the events that unfold in the film. I have seen two of Ritt's earlier films that I also recommend you see: Hud(1963 starring Paul Newman) and Norma Rae(1973 starring Sally Field and based on a true story).

Despite the presence of two Oscar-winning actors in its cast, "Back Roads" has been forgotten for the most part. Seeing it, it becomes clear why it hasn't built a cult. I won't say that it's a terrible movie - there are a few good things about it. It's nice for a change to see a major Hollywood studio movie that is fairly downbeat in nature. Also, the acting by both Jones and Field is pretty good - in fact, while watching the movie, I never thought I was watching two movie stars, but instead watching two characters. But their characters aren't that interesting. We don't learn much about them, and their frequent bickering becomes ultimately tiring. Also, when the movie ends, it ends at a point where it seems unfinished. It's like the director said, "We've got a 90 minute running time, so let's call it a day." Only worth watching if you want to see why the CBS network wasn't very successful in making theatrical movies.

Back Roads", a pointless movie which lacks direction and is void thematically, concerns a cross-country journey of discovery that is uninspired and uncovers little. Screenwriter Gary De Vore's would be road movie tells the story of a two people from Mobile, Alabama who head out to California to try and start their lives anew. The weak plot leaves little for Martin Ritt (director) to work with, and he is unable to swing the film into gear (it couldn't choose one) with any real force.The pairing of Sally Field, who does reasonably well in this unusual role, and Tommy Lee Jones is never romantically moving, and the duo can make little of the sparse comedy and ineffective drama. David Keith drops by in a supporting role, but his meaningless character leaves him floundering.De Vore made nothing of the subplot involving Miss Field's little boy.Saturday, June 10, 1995 - Video

Hi. Long time ago I was on a Swedish ship, a general cargo ship on a trip from England to Brownsville, Texas. It was a bad ship, and it ended in a one-way ticket back to Sweden, paid by the Swedish embassy, but, however, there were some Mexican hookers visiting our ship every day during our stay, very friendly and "speakable", but one day when they came aboard one of them shouted "I'm a movie star", and she explained that she had a part in a film called "Crossroads" (later I found out that it was called Back Roads), featuring Sally Field. As the years went by I looked for this film but never found it, until today(!) 14th March 2007, when they showed it on cable television...fantastic! After all, she wasn't lying! A little story on the first day of spring here in Sweden. Yours Rune Carlsson