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| © Sony Pictures Classics |
The Whole Wide World (1996): Compelling, often moving biography of one of pulp fiction's true pioneers, Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan, Kull, and Solomon Kane, and a huge influence on the writings of Lovecraft. It follows his complex relationship with teacher/writer Novalyne Price, as Howard struggles with his unhealthy attachment to his mother and his deep-rooted misanthropy. Renee Zellweger steals the film with her charming, layered, and subdued portrayal of Novalyne Price, while Vincent D'Onofrio gives an impassioned if sometimes overbearing performance as Howard. The film will appeal most to fans of Howard's incomparable writings, but it is also a touching, poignant, and tragic love story. The conventional if steady direction by Dan Ireland is too low-key for its own good, but this is a good story, well-told.
