''The Iron Orchard'' is a 2018 American historical-
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
co-written, co-produced and directed by Ty Roberts. The movie was first shown on May 5, 2018, at the
Dallas International Film Festival
The Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF), presented by Dallas Film, is an annual film festival that takes place in Dallas, Texas.
About Dallas Film
Dallas Film, established as Dallas Film Society, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ...
and was limited released on February 22, 2019, in the United States. It is based on the 1966 novel by Tom Pendleton.
Plot
In 1939, Jim McNeely works in the West Texas oilfields. He works and becomes a wildcatter.
Cast
*
Austin Nichols
Austin Nichols (born April 24, 1980) is an American actor and director, known for his role as Julian Baker in The CW drama series ''One Tree Hill''. He is also known for his roles in the films ''The Day After Tomorrow'' and '' Wimbledon''. He st ...
as Dent Paxton
*
Lane Garrison
Lane Edward Garrison (born May 23, 1980) is an American actor best known for the role of David "Tweener" Apolskis on the television series ''Prison Break''. He appeared in the pilot episode of the El Rey network's series ''From Dusk till Dawn''. ...
as Jim McNeely
*
Ali Cobrin
Ali Cobrin (born ) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Molly in the Showtime series '' Look: The Series'', as Kara in the 2012 film ''American Reunion'', and as Whitney in the 2014 film '' Neighbors''.
Early life
Cobrin was ...
as Lee Montgomery
* Donny Boaz as Charlie Dupree
*
Lew Temple
Lew Temple (born October 2, 1967) is an American actor, known for his roles as Locus Fender in the action film, '' Domino'', Cal, the diner manager in the comedy-drama '' Waitress'', and Axel in the third season of '' The Walking Dead''.
Early ...
as Ort Cooley
* Hassie Harrison as Mazie Wales
* Harlan Whatley as Medical Doctor
Release
Reception
On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, The Iron Orchard has an approval rating of based on reviews. On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, another review aggregator which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 43 out of 100 based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews"
Kimber Myers from the
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
said that "though there are some well-framed shots from cinematographer Mathieu Plainfossé, the script from Gerry De Leon and director Ty Roberts is lifeless, covered in a layer of dust that the cast can't rouse it from." Jeannette Catsoulis writing for
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
stated: "Seemingly nostalgic for a period when West Texas roughnecks settled scores with baseball bats and laid pipe with pickaxes, this lovingly made homage to avarice feels strangely limp. Instead of gushing, it trickles." American film critic and historian
Joe Leydon
Joseph Patrick Michael Leydon (born August 22, 1952) is an American film critic and historian. A critic and correspondent for ''Variety'' since 1990, he is the author of ''Joe Leydon's Guide to Essential Movies You Must See'' (Michael Wiese Prod ...
liked the movie and his review for
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
wrote: "Garrison strikes the perfect balance of cocksure swagger and not-so-quiet desperation while offering a credible and creditable portrayal of a man forever on the verge of plunging into the abyss because of the same instincts that initially fuel his ascent. He and supporting players Cobrin and Nichols help to make “The Iron Orchard” an absorbing story, even if you wind up wishing more of that story had been told."
Glenn Kenny
Glenn Kenny (born August 8, 1959) is an American film critic and journalist. He writes for ''The New York Times'' and '' RogerEbert.com''.
Biography
Kenny attended William Paterson University, where he majored in English literature.RogerEbert.com gave Beneath the Leaves only 1.5 out of 5 stars and stated: "As competently put together as this movie is, it imparted to me no sense of a higher calling, and thus left me unmoved."
Anthony Lane
Anthony Lane is a British journalist who is a film critic for ''The New Yorker'' magazine.
Career Education and early career
Lane attended Sherborne School and graduated with a degree in English from Trinity College, Cambridge, where he also ...
from
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
magazine also disliked the film, stating that "the musical score is overcooked, the cast underpowered, and the dialogue something of a mishmash..."