Wicked Spring
by Kevin R Hershberger
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Brian Merrick, Curtis Hall, DJ Perry, Mark Lacy, Terry JerniganDirector: Kevin R Hershberger
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 105 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-12-16
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Allumination
Movie Reviews of Wicked Spring
Movie Review: For Civil War buffs only
Summary: 3 Stars
I recently bought a DVD copy of "Wicked Spring", mainly based on the many favorable reviews I read on this site. Began looking after thoroughly loving another little-known Indie Civil War film, "Pharaoh's Army" (1995, starring Chris Cooper and Patricia Clarkson in the lead roles). The reviews on this site for "Wicked Spring" sounded similar, so I bought a copy and watched it for the first time the other night.
Quick take: in no way as good a movie as "Pharaoh's Army"(in every respect- acting, plot, cinematography, pacing, etc), but still an above-average Civil War movie, so long as you understand that, like "Pharaoh's Army", it is not meant to be a grand epic filled with big battle scenes, but a small slice of the Civil War, from the personal level of a few grunt soldiers struggling through a few days of that massive conflict.
The story in "Wicked Spring" is simple enough: during the horrible 1864 battle of The Wilderness (around Chancellorsville, Virginia), 6 soldiers (3 from each side) wind up being thrown together in the darkness of one night, following a confused day of fighting and running around lost in the dense woods and general chaos that was the battle of The Wilderness. The initial scenes of the fighting are done well enough, though without a whole lot of sheer-terror or graphic violence (read any historical accounts of the real battle and you'll realize how toned-down the movie depiction is). The 6 men spend the night together, largely lost and afraid, and clearly (with the exception of one Confederate soldier) not anxious to hurt anyone anytime soon. The bulk of the movie revolves around conversation between the two lead actors during that night ( Yankee D.J. Perry and Reb Brian Merrick), with the most revealing part of that being a series of letters from Merrick's sweetheart back home, which are caringly read to him by Perry, as the Reb is illiterate, and has held the letters for 3 years without being able to read their content. The two leads actors do a passing job of acting, though this is very subdued material, and not a whole lot of content about the Civil War or it's tensions, but just generic wishing-for-home material that is common to all soldiers, during all wars. The supporting cast, however, is simply awful: particulalrly the angry Reb (Terry Jernigan) whose over-the-top routine gets old pretty fast. In all fairness, the supporting actors really aren't given anything too interesting to say, but even so, their acting is pretty bad, even for an Indie film. Not fair to compare this aspect to "Pharaoh"s Army" , with two major motion picture stars taking the leads in that one (as well as an excellent supporting cast of lesser-known actors), but just be prepared to wince and even yawn a little off and on during "Wicked Spring". The issue about whether the soldiers recognize early on that they are on different sides or not seemed fairly obvious to me: I understood their words and actions to mean they knew, but just didn't want to deal with it for that particualr night. That is, until the Jernigan character acts like it was a revelation the next morning that he has spent the night with 3 Yankees- this part just didn't make sense to me.The eventual climax the next morning seemed all too predictable to me, and for that reason it lost a lot of the intended dramatic impact. When the movie ended, I wasn't blown away or left with any lasting impressions, as I certainly was with "Pharaoh's Army". My usual way to critically assess any movie is whether or not I will watch it several times after the first viewing: I might watch "Wicked Spring" again, but I have watched "Pharaoh's Army" many times over the last couple of years. Enough said.
The cinematography in this flick is pretty good, and the attention to detail in the soldiers uniforms and gear is first-rate: Civil War buffs will notice this aspect, but I doubt it will mean much to the average viewer. The musical score is at times quite moving and beautiful, and never detracts from any scene.
Overall I give it 3 stars, mainly for the attention to Civil War details and the two lead actors work. I suspect it will appeal to Civil War buffs primarily, though, and for most others, probably a once-viewed flick without much lasting impact. But no way is it either just one star or 5 stars: folks who rate it that way are way too biased, one way or the other.
Needless to say, I'm a Civil War buff. But if you haven't done so already, check out "Pharaoh's Army"- a real gem, in every way.
Summary of Wicked Spring
During the 1864 battle of the wilderness three union soldiers and three confederate soldiers get seperated from their units as twilight engulfs the ravaged battlefield. The men wander alone through the dangerous woods separate of each other until they meet by chance on the banks of a quiet creek. Studio: Peace Arch Home Entertain Release Date: 10/18/2005 Starring: Brian Merrick Terry Jernigan Run time: 105 minutes Rating: Pend Director: Kevin HershbergerAction & Adventure DVD Video
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