If
nothing else Because of Winn Dixie is a film with it’s heart in the right
place. And though fleshing out characters so deeply ingrained into the American
psyche, as are these found in Kate DiCamillos time-honored book about hard-times
and hope in the South, I’d have to say that good ole southern boy Wayne Wang
has done a serviceable job. First and foremost the two mains Opal and Winn Dixie
are impeccably cast. Anna Sophia Robb strikes the right mixture of innocence and
luminescence and the canine thespian hired in the title role is an absolute Godsend.
How many dogs can smile on cue? The casting department also deserves praise for
their inspired choice of Jeff Daniels as the beleaguered Preacher. He does his,
put-upon dead-pan thing to great effect.
Wang
directs the film in a simple, straight forward manner, and though it is obviously
oriented for children, I found myself enjoying much of it. Seeing the world, particularly
the South through the wide eyes of Opal was not only heart-wrending but thought-provoking.
The message is plain and it is presented without pretense and for that I give
the film thumbs up - though it’s hardly a classic. Along the way Opal and
Winn Dixie (the dog who appears as if as an answer to a prayer) befriend and begin
to mend the lives of lonesome characters played by film icons such as Cicely Tyson
and Eva Marie Saint - even cult musician Dave Matthews turns in a believable performance
as an ex-con with a magic way with his guitar.
This
is a film with absolutely no guile, or pretense and succeeds because of it’s
straight forward approach to it’s lonely characters who find friendship due
to a big unwieldy stray Opal names Winn Dixie after rescuing it from the pound
after it goes for a spree in a local supermarket. Those prone to tears will spill
a few and those who look at things through cynical eyes will consider the film
alot of crap. Myself I decided to just go with it, and I found it both emotionally
stirring as well as fun.
Again
this isn’t To Kill a Mockingbird, but there’s enough meat to the story
to keep it valid to both children and adults, and though it certainly plays to
the grandstands with Opal’s enormous blue eyes, and a dog who can smile and
lonely adults who find solace in the ways of a child - I think most folks would
enjoy sitting down and getting to know these characters for ninety minutes. I
did.
