Boy, I don't know. The whole business about 'the secret' between the boy and his grandfather bothered me - a lot. I'm thinking about the role model implications on Pappy's (Scott Glenn) part, and the conflicted life young Luke (Logan Lerman) would have when the reality of witnessing two murders would finally kick in. The relationship between these two characters was admirable, but the lack of justice in bringing the truth forward is still upsetting me.

Moving on. The film hooked me early when the narrator's voice theorizes about an old truck's optimal speed. In the mid Fifties, my Dad had a 1937 Chevy farm truck, and like Pappy's, it too had a top speed of thirty seven miles per hour. How weird is that? And that business about taking a bath every Saturday whether you needed it or not - I've heard that one too, but for real. In fact, (back to my Dad),he used to tell of an acquaintance who only washed his arms up to the point where a short sleeved shirt would cover the rest. Not making it up.

So the hardscrabble life of an Arkansas cotton farm presented here seemed realistic enough to me. The era was depicted in a way that probably seems unbelievable today to modern viewers, what with a nickel matinée at the local theater, a five cent double cola and three cent popcorn. That seven fifty Cardinals jacket had to seem a world away to a kid like Luke, but through it all, the merit of hard work, rugged individualism and family values had a place in a bygone era that seems so distant today.

What's almost an afterthought it seemed was the picture's title, as it takes on a quiet life of it's own before the story builds into a farm community event of sorts. I liked the idea that the Mexicans would pitch in to help with the chore, ostensibly to keep busy, but showing genuine friendship for a farmer who provides seasonal work year after year. The way the Chandlers share their meager bounty with the Latchers also demonstrated genuine compassion for others even less fortunate. When these Hallmark concepts work they work very well, but by ranging a little too far outside their traditional box, this film seemed to provide more questions than answers.

Greatly enjoyed John Grisham's great story about a warm and kind family in the South who had the hard task of picking Cotton for a living and never painting their home. All the actors did a fantastic job of portraying what a very hard life it was in 1952 trying to find Mexican help and poor White families to assist in the picking process. Grisham's book went into more detail and the picture sort of chopped up the entire story, especially the scene where Luke, a young boy takes a peek at a girl taking a swim in the nude. Luke also witnesses a murder and plays a funny trick on a Yankee Lady who has to use the OUT HOUSE! Great film which makes you laugh and CRY !

Perhaps sometimes, we forget, with our plush life and current definition of "poverty", what things were like for rural "working poor" even as recently as the 50's. Survival, even for a man who owned the land, took a different strength of character. Is it good, or is it regretful those times have passed? More money yes, but were better times up North in the auto plants? I suppose, but this is nostalgia, and not bad either. It was a good family movie, narrated like the Waltons, I kept waiting for "goodnight Luke-boy". Yah, Little House on the Prairie too, a bit more reality, but did other commenters really expect this to be as complete as the book, any book? Personally, I'm tired of hearing book-readers whine about "what they left out". Don't watch movies if you read the book. This is certainly wandering reminiscences, but that's another type of literature too, isn't it? Why does every story have to be going somewhere special? To me it's a pretty good coming of age movie and worth the hour and a half at least, and always a pleasure watching Scott Glenn, when he gets good parts. James Welch Henderson Arkansas 4/9/2021.