A Thousand Acres

REVIEW
Boasting two very good lead performances, A Thousand Acres is a well-acted, occasionally moving drama of family conflict which unfortunately isn't quite as involving as it promises to be. Based on Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the story concerns an Iowa farming family and the ramifications which occur when patriarch Robards decides to divide his homestead between his three daughters. Lange and Pfeiffer are the two eldest, each married but still living on the land. Leigh is the youngest who left the nest early on and lives in the city. When Leigh expresses doubt about the inheritance, it sets in motion a series of soul-searching and emotional confrontations which ultimately shed light on dark family secrets. The wonderful performances Lange and Pfeiffer go far to gloss over the sometimes slow pacing and dispassionate feel director Moorhouse gives the film.