ULEE'S GOLD Victor Nunez, 1997 Our rating: 3.5 Tupelo flash: Peter Fonda A taste of honey An unusually stoic Peter Fonda stars as Ulysses Jackson, a widowed Florida beekeeper who farms precious Tupelo gold honey while trying to raise the two daughters (Vanessa Zima and Jessie Biel) of his imprisoned son Jimmy (Tom Wood). His quiet life is suddenly disrupted when Jimmy begs him to rescue his heroin-addicted wife (Christine Dunford) from the clutches of a sinister pair of thugs. Since 1979, longtime independent filmmaker Victor Nunez has made only four feature films, each better than the last and all of them fine. That's one reason why his latest work comes as something of a disappointment. High expectations aside, the power of an otherwise carefully crafted film is undone by risky and not altogether successful casting. Nunez specializes in the kind of deliberately paced, character-driven dramas in which the right actors mean just about everything: Ed Harris in A FLASH OF GREEN, for example, or Ashley Judd's unforgettable starring turn in RUBY IN PARADISE. Fonda simply lacks the fortitude to carry a film of such fine nuances -- his bitter stoicism soon grows dull. With Dunford, however, Nunez has scored a bull's-eye. As a woman dragged back into the lives of her estranged children while undergoing an agonizing heroin withdrawal, she's electrifying; you find yourself wishing the film were all about her. -- Zolt 2000 Tell us what you think! Academy Award Nomination: Best Actor - Peter Fonda Country of origin: U.S. Genre: Drama Color or b/w: Color Production Co(s).: Clinica Estetico; Orion Released by: Orion MPAA rating: R Parental rating: Cautionary; some scenes objectionable Running time: 113

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