Honeydripper

Any time John Sayles makes a film it is an event for me. Even Sayles that isn't great is better than a lot of the stuff out there. While his new film Honeydripper may not be his best it is quite a good one.

The story takes place in 1950 in Alabama in a small town. Tyrone (Danny Glover) runs a music club called The Honeydripper. His partner in the venture is Maceo (Charles S. Dutton). The club is not doing well. Tyrone lets go his elderly singer because she is not attracting a crowd. His competition has a juke box but he can't use his juke box because he can't pay the electric bill. If he doesn't come up with some money soon his club will be taken away from him.

Tyrone has a past. He is married to the church going Delilah (Lisa Gay Hamilton) and has a stepdaughter named China Doll (Yaya DaCosta). They are supportive of his venture and want him to succeed. But something good seems to be coming down the road and perhaps Tyrone's luck will change.

Even though I had an idea of what would happen I must say that I enjoyed this film. All of the acting was very good. I should mention Gary Clark, Jr. because he is a prominent player in the film. The smaller roles were also well acted. Most of the cast is black. The two main exceptions are Stacey Keach, Jr. (who plays the town sheriff) and Mary Steenburgen (she plays the woman who Delilah works for).

As usual, Sayles wrote, directed and edited the film. And his long-time partner Maggie Renzi produced. Do yourself a favor and go see this film. It has an old fashioned quality about it that you don't often see in films these days.