Things That Hang from Trees
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{infobox film
|name = Things That Hang From Trees
|image =
|director = Ido Mizrahy
|writer = Aaron Louis Tordini
|producer = Joseph Zolfo
|music = Michael Galasso
|starring = Deborah Kara Unger
Daniel Von Bargen
Ray McKinnon
Peter Gerety
Laila Robins
Cooper Musgrove
Jason Antoon
Yul Vazquez
Marco St. John
|distributor = Radio London Films
|released = {{Film date|2006|03|11}}
|runtime = 98 minutes
|country = United States
|language = English
}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Things That Hang from Trees}}
Things That Hang from Trees is a 2006 drama film directed by Ido Mizrahy and written by Aaron Louis Tordini. It is based on the novella of the same name by Aaron Louis Tordini, under the pen name T. A. Louis.
Plot
Florida, 1969. 8-year-old asthmatic{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mq0qAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Things+That+Hang+from+Trees%22+-wikipedia+tordini |title=The Hollywood Reporter |date=2006 |publisher=Hollywood Reporter Incorporated |language=en}} Tommy Wheeler is incorrectly seen as mentally-impaired by many of the local townspeople. Tommy lives alone with his mother, Connie Mae, a sex shop owner. This emotionally troubled child also struggles with painful memories of his abusive, estranged father, Tom, whose mistreatment he recreates in a self-flagellating manner by systematically subjecting himself to the sadism of the 12-year-old local bully, Bear Hadley. While the town barber, George Burgess, a psychotically religious zealot, obsesses over Connie Mae, Tommy fantasizes about watching the town fireworks from atop the local lighthouse. The boy finally realizes this dream.
Cast
{{cast listing|
- Deborah Kara Unger as Connie Mae Wheeler
- Daniel Von Bargen as George Burgess
- Ray McKinnon as Tom Wheeler Sr.
- Peter Gerety as Ump
- Laila Robins as Miss Millie
- Cooper Musgrove as Tommy Wheeler
- Jason Antoon as Bobby Mecklem
- Yul Vazquez as Juan Lopez
- Marco St. John as Sheriff Hank Bullard
- Marylouise Burke as Joan Kayser
- Jayne Houdyshell as Pam Dupont
}}
Distributor
- Radio London Films
Release
Things That Hang from Trees premiered at the 2006 South by Southwest film festival.{{Cite web |last=Dentler |first=Matt |date=2006-02-23 |title='Things that Hang' Among SXSW Films at ND/NF |url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/general/things-that-hang-among-sxsw-films-at-ndnf-223104/ |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}} In 2015 the film was selected to become part of the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection.{{Cite web |title=GORED {{!}} 2015 Tribeca Festival |url=https://tribecafilm.com/films/gored-2015 |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Tribeca}}
Reception
Reception for Things That Hang from Trees was mixed. Reviewers for The Austin Chronicle and Variety were critical. Kimberly Jones of The Austin Chronicle noted that "any time one story really gets cooking, we're jettisoned to another – but the ensemble cast does good work, and the location becomes a character unto itself."{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Kimberly |date=March 17, 2006 |title=SXSW Film: Things That Hang From Trees |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2006-03-17/348685/ |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=The Austin Chronicle}} Ronnie Scheib of Variety also praised the acting while also stating that "Neither adopting Tommy’s p.o.v. nor allowing the other characters enough autonomy to create multiple perspectives, pic lacks an overarching aesthetic drive and floats stagnantly in its own frame of reference."{{Cite web |last=Scheib |first=Ronnie |date=2006-03-29 |title=Things That Hang From Trees |url=https://variety.com/2006/film/reviews/things-that-hang-from-trees-1200517407/ |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
Nick Schager of Slant rated the movie at 2 out of 5 stars, writing "Mostly, though, Mizrahy’s film feels like Flannery O’Conner without the atmosphere of near-oppressive religiosity, or William Faulkner without the hypnotic surreality—or, to put it bluntly, like a giant symbolic drag."{{Cite web |last=Schager |first=Nick |date=2006-03-22 |title=Review: Things That Hang From Trees |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/things-that-hang-from-trees/ |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Slant Magazine |language=en-US}}
Filmdienst noted the presence of Southern Gothic elements in the plot and the critique of the petit-bourgeois milieu depicted.{{Cite book |last1=Koll |first1=Horst Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZRl3DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Things+That+Hang+from+Trees%22+-wikipedia+tordini&pg=PT310 |title=Lexikon des internationalen Films - Filmjahr 2011: Das komplette Angebot im Kino, Fernsehen und auf DVD/Blu-ray |last2=Messias |first2=Hans |date=2012-04-04 |publisher=Schüren Verlag |isbn=978-3-89472-797-0 |language=de}}
= Awards =
- 2006: Best Film, American Independents, Troia International Film Festival
- 2008: Best Film, Corto Imola International Film
- 2008: Award of Excellence, Accolade Competition
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.thingsthathangfromtrees.com Official site]
- {{IMDb title|id=0448149|title=Things That Hang from Trees}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes|things_that_hang_from_trees}}
Category:Films shot in Jacksonville, Florida
Category:Films set in the 1960s