She knew his face. His touch. His voice. She knew everything about him ... But the truth.
Set in the South just after the US Civil War, Laurel Sommersby is just managing to work the farm without her husband, believed killed in battle. By all accounts, Jack Sommersby was not a pleasant man, thus when he suddenly returns, Laurel has mixed emotions. It appears that Jack has changed a great deal, leading some people to believe that this is not actually Jack but an imposter. Laurel herself is unsure, but willing to take the man into her home, and perhaps later into her heart.
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Character
Earnest, grave, classical in form and contemplative.
- earnestironic
- gravecomic
- classical in formformally daring
- contemplativerelentless
- rawmeticulous
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“Is Jodie Foster the best thing in Sommersby?”
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“Is the slow pace a feature rather than a flaw?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- John Chardon TMDB · Apr 20198/10
You and this child are in danger of spending eternity in everlasting damnation! Directed by Jon Amiel, Sommersby is adapted from the historical account of 16th Century French peasant Martin Guerre. It was previously filmed as The Return of Martin Guerre in 1982. It stars Richard Gere, Jodie Foster and Bill Pullman. Music is by Danny Elfman and cinematography by Philippe Rousselot. In simple terms the film is about a man (Jack Sommersby) who went off to war and was presumed dead by his wife (Laurel) and the village folk of the village where he lived. Some 9 years later he returns a changed man, back in the marital bed and a hero to the village. But then questions start to crop up and it becomes a possibility that this man may not after all be who he claims to be. Sounds bizarre for sure, yet it's a true story, and a fascinating one at that. For this American version we get top line production values across the board, with the film propelled with grace and skill by Gere and Foster in the lead roles of Jack and Laurel Sommersby. Director Amiel rightly uses the slow burn approach, a consideration to the art of story telling. This draws the viewer firmly into the post Civil War period a
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Cast
- Jodie FosterLaurel Sommersby
- Richard GereJohn Robert Sommersby / Horace Townsend
- Bill PullmanOrin Meecham
- James Earl JonesJudge Barry Conrad Issacs
- Lanny FlahertyBuck
- William WindomReverend Powell
- Wendell WellmanTravis
- Brett KelleyLittle Rob
- Clarice TaylorEsther
- Frankie FaisonJoseph
Crew
- Jon AmielDirector
- Sarah KernochanScreenplay
- Philippe RousselotDirector of Photography
- Danny ElfmanOriginal Music Composer
- Peter BoyleEditor
- Arnon MilchanProducer
- Steven ReutherProducer
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