Drama has disturbing themes> ‘Ulee’s Gold’ character deals with hopelessness

“ULEE’S GOLD” Written and directed by Victor Nunez. Running time: 115 minutes. Rated R (for language and violence). Showing nightly at 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday at the Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville.

There is an undercurrent in Victor Nunez’s “Ulee’s Gold” that is so subtle and so disturbing, at first you cannot put your finger on what it is.

But it is powerful, and as the film unfolds, it eventually dawns on you that what is troubling you most is the unsettling truth in Peter Fonda’s superb, haunting performance as Ulysses Jackson, a beekeeper who lives in the Florida panhandle. You know there are good men out there like Ulee, honest, hard-working men who have been physically and emotionally beaten down by life.

You know this film is but a glimpse of what is going on in America today. And you know, just as Ulee knows, that it is getting worse. The socioeconomic gap is widening, drugs are destroying families, parents aren’t taking care of their children and too many people are living by a cutthroat creed that is often driven by greed. In Ulee’s face and in his eyes is a well of sadness struggling to come through, but when it does, it is heartbreaking because you understand he is grieving not only for himself and for his family, but also for the country he once protected.

The strikes against Ulee have been hard and many: He was the only survivor of his Vietnam unit; he became a widower in the prime of his life; his son is in prison for robbing a bank; and he is raising his two granddaughters with difficulty. He is exhausted, both physically and mentally, but finds solace in tending to his bees, which provide order in his otherwise unsettled world. It is said that our work can save us, and the audience senses that if it weren’t for Ulee’s bees, he would be in trouble.

Trouble comes in the form of a phone call from his imprisoned son, Jimmy (Tom Wood), which changes Ulee’s life forever. It seems that Jimmy’s wife, Helen (Christin Dunford), has turned up in Orlando and is in need of help. Would Ulee please go and collect her from Eddie and Ferris (Steven Flynn and Dewey Weber), the two men with whom Jimmy robbed the bank. After some urging, Ulee agrees and drives to get the woman, only to find that she is strung out on drugs and bordering on insanity.

The scene is raw and unnerving, with Ulee, Ferris and Eddie literally dragging Helen into Ulee’s truck. You understand now why Ulee’s eldest granddaughter, Casey (Jessica Biel), is so angry and why his youngest, Penny (Vanessa Sima), is so introverted and remote — their mother is a bum who chose to feed her addiction rather than her two children. And once again, the undercurrent in this film rises fiercely to the surface — you know there are scenes like this playing out all over America.

With Helen packed in the truck, the film takes an unexpected turn. Eddie pulls a gun, leans menacingly toward Ulee, and threatens him: Produce the $100,000 Jimmy hid after the robbery, or he and Ferris will kill Ulee’s grandchildren.

If you think this film will now become a slick thriller, you’re mistaken. “Ulee’s Gold” is smarter and deeper than that and continues to delve into Ulee’s charactor where other, lesser films (and directors) would have sacrificed it for action.

Since his portrayal of Captain America in “Easy Rider,” Peter Fonda’s career has been a rather undistinguished haze of silly action flicks now starring the rather unfortunate and lobotomized Lorenzo Lamas. What Fonda has become in Victor Nunez’s capable hands is a man reminiscent of his late father, Henry — a man whose quiet strength shines through, and hints at a career reborn.

Until Hoyt’s or Spotlight cinemas has the good sense to understand there is an audience in Bangor for quality films, make the drive to Waterville to see “Ulee’s Gold.” Grade: A-

Video of the Week “Swinger” Directed by Doug Liman. Written by Jon Favreau. Running time: 95 minutes. Rated R (for language, sexual situations and adult content.

Oh, how titles can mislead…

You will either be pleased — or, like me, terribly disappointed — to learn that “Swingers” is not about the loose, uninhibited, miniskirt-and-marijuana set that rose to fame in the 1960s for placing themselves in scandalous, bedroom situations. There is not a bubbling lava lamp, a studded trapeze, or a vibrating bearskin rug in sight (I looked) — which raises an obvious question: How could this film possibly have made it as my video of the week? Simple. “Swingers” is good even without the Spanish Fly, and it deserves your attention.

The film, which is loosely about a group of young men who hope to make it big in Hollywood, focuses on Mike (Jon Favreau, who also wrote the screenplay), a young man who left his longtime girlfriend in New York to be a stand-up comedian in Los Angeles. Big mistake. Not only are there no job prospects for Mike in L.A., but he misses his girlfriend so terribly, he lapses into a deep depression, checks his answering machine constantly, and generally drives his friends crazy with his overwhelming need for his girlfriend’s love and companionship. Poor Mike. He doesn’t fit in Hollywood because he’s genuinely a nice guy, not at all smooth like his best friend Trent (Vince Vaughn) and most women don’t find him attractive. But the right woman does, and when he meets her in a club at film’s end, a soul-lifting dance sequence ensues that is so charming and so well-executed, you find yourself swinging with the music and sighing in relief with Mike’s friends. Finally, real hope in a town that often crushes it. Grade: B.

Christopher Smith, a writer and critic who lives in Brewer, reviews movies each Monday in the NEWS.