by Buzz McClain
review
First-time director Lanny Cotler squanders the family audience for this fairy tale melodrama by including an occasional "adult" word and a suggestive, almost nude romp under a waterfall. Occasionally sappy, the story gains momentum -- and hokum -- toward the end, but it works best when the great Jason Robards is on the screen, proving yet again that his effortless style could rise above mediocre material. Heartwood is not bad, not great, but passable only for those longing for obvious Capra-esque resolutions. Released the year before Swank won an Oscar for Boys Don't Cry, Heartwood was self-distributed theatrically on a limited basis by the producers in 1998.
