"The Yellow Handkerchief" is an independent movie. A simple movie and first and foremost a road movie.
The story bounces back and forth between modern day William Hurt, who was just released from jail and a past relationship between he and Maria Bello. The mood here is a somber one. Hurt takes to the road with a couple of kids played by "Twilight's" Kristen Stewart and relative new comer, Eddie Redmayne. As the tale unfolds we learn what happened to derail his life. He's a man of few words, but an interesting fellow, marked with a sadness that you can only see in the eyes.
Hurt is excellent in his role, and he turns an otherwise average film into one I fully recommend. His ex-con is one that's bitter, quiet and respectful - but you wouldn't want to cross him in any way. He takes the kids under his wing, acting as the father figure neither has -while they take the place of the children he wanted, but didn't get. And this entire story plays out while the three meander through Louisiana in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.
It is not until the last minute of the movie when we learn the significance of the film's title and at that point you realize it really couldn't have been called anything else.
As I stated at the top of this review, "The Yellow Handkerchief " is a road movie. A road worth traveling.
3 out of 4 stars.
Director: Udayan Prasad
Writers: Erin Dignam (screenplay), Pete Hamill (story)
Cast: William Hurt, Kristen Stewrt, Eddie Redmayne, Maria Bello
