The Neon Bible (film)

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The Neon Bible
Directed by	Terence Davies
Produced by	Elizabeth Karlsen Nik Powell Olivia Stewart Victoria Westhead Stephen Woolley
Written by	John Kennedy Toole (novel) Terence Davies (screenplay)
Starring	Jacob Tierney Gena Rowlands Diana Scarwid Denis Leary
Cinematography	Michael Coulter
Editing by	Michael Coulter
Distributed by	Strand
Running time	92 minutes
Country	UK
Language	English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Neon Bible is a 1995 drama film written and directed by Terence Davies, based on the novel of the same name by John Kennedy Toole. The film is about a boy named David (Jacob Tierney) coming of age in Georgia in the 1940s. His abusive father (Denis Leary) enlists in the army during World War II and disappears and David is left to take care of his mother (Diana Scarwid) with his Aunt Mae (Gena Rowlands) who is a singer. It was filmed in the state of Georgia, in the cities Atlanta, Crawfordville, and Madison.

The film was released in France in August 1995, the United Kingdom in October 1995, Australia in November 1995, and released in the United States on March 1, 1996.

1 Cast
2 Reception
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Cast

Jacob Tierney as David, aged 15
Drake Bell as David, aged 10
Gena Rowlands as Mae Morgan
Diana Scarwid as Sarah
Denis Leary as Frank
Bob Hannah as George
Aaron Frisch as Bruce
Charles Franzen as Tannoy Voice
Leo Burmester as Bobbie Lee Taylor
Sherry Velvet as First Testifier
Stephanie Astalos-Jones as Second Testifier
Ian Shearer as Billy Sunday Thompson
Joan Glover as Flora
Jill Jane Clements as Woman
Tom Turbiville as Clyde
Sharon Blackwood as Schoolmistress
Peter McRobbie as Reverend Watkins
Ken Fight as Schoolmaster
Dana Seltzer (credited as Dana Atwood) as Jo Lynne
Virgil Graham Hopkins as Mr. Williams
Ducan Stewart as Boy in Drugstore
J.T. Alessi as Boy in Drugstore
Duncan Stewart as Head Boy
Frances Conroy as Miss Scover
Marcus Batton as School Boy

[edit] Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, 44% of critics gave the fllm positive reviews (based on 9 reviews).^[1]

San Francisco Chronicle film critic Edward Guthmann said the film was poorly received when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995, but called it "gorgeous" and "one of the year's most beautiful films." He said it was a rewarding film that requires a little faith from the viewer due to long, slow, "lingering shots that work as a kind of meditation." He described the revival meeting at night "like an Edward Hopper or Thomas Hart Benton painting come to life." ^[2] Judd Blaise of All Movie Guide gave the film 2 1/2 out of 5 stars and said "Some viewers will likely be frustrated by the slow pace and elliptical style, though others may be transfixed by the often stunning photography and poetic approach."^[3] The New York Times film critic Stephen Holden said one of the problems with the film was that it "may have succumbed to its own dreamy esthetic" by focusing on the same image too often, and that the end of the film "loses its balance."^[4]

Stephen Brophy, a staff reporter for The Tech, said "Terence Davies' latest film looks as ravishing as Distant Voices, Still Lives, or The Long Day Closes" but that the plot was weak and that the ending of the film was absurd.^[5] San Francisco Examiner critic Barry Walters said the film was "unrelentingly downbeat" and that "it starts off dark and gets darker". He called it "one long crawl into an emotional abyss without catharsis" and said that the director Davies had created a nightmare.^[6]

The film was shown on two screens in the United States and grossed $78,072 in its theatrical release.^[7]