{"id":6503,"date":"2009-04-13T12:02:34","date_gmt":"2009-04-13T19:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6503"},"modified":"2021-01-30T18:13:17","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T01:13:17","slug":"raggedy-man-1981","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6503","title":{"rendered":"Raggedy Man (1981)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I can&#8217;t quit this job; I&#8217;m frozen here.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Poster-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-22897\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Poster-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Poster.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nDuring World War II, the divorced mother (Sissy Spacek) of two young boys (Henry Thomas and Carey Hollis, Jr.) takes up with a sailor (Eric Roberts), which arouses the envy of two local hoodlums (William Sanderson and Tracey Walter).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Romance<\/li>\n<li>Single Mothers<\/li>\n<li>Sissy Spacek Films<\/li>\n<li>Small Town America<\/li>\n<li>World War Two<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary is an enormous fan of Sissy Spacek&#8217;s performance as Nita Longley in this character-driven romantic fable; he refers to Nita as &#8220;her most mature, capable, and, I think, appealing character&#8221;, and gives Spacek an <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/AlternateOscars.html\">Alternate Oscar as Best Actress of the year<\/a>. He notes that Spacek is finally allowed to &#8220;create a character through nuance rather than speech&#8221; and that she &#8220;reveals exciting parts of her that she&#8217;d always kept hidden&#8221;. Spacek&#8217;s performance here is indeed lovely &#8212; as is that of Eric Roberts in one of his better supporting roles (Peary notes that he gives a &#8220;splendid performance&#8221;, and correctly asserts in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> book that he deserved a Supporting Actor nomination). Their brief romance together is truly touching, and &#8220;tastefully handled&#8221;. Peary also rightly points out that &#8220;you&#8217;ll feel transported back through time&#8221; by the authenticity of the &#8220;small Texas town&#8221; (thanks to the &#8220;impeccable&#8221; sets and photography), and that you&#8217;ll doubtless enjoy the &#8220;smart dialogue&#8221; and the wonderful &#8220;interaction of characters, including adults and children&#8221;.  <\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, however, <em>Raggedy Man<\/em> &#8212; which starts out as the &#8220;most lyrical and romantic of films&#8221; &#8212; is irredeemably marred by its &#8220;horror-movie ending&#8221;, a deeply &#8220;regrettable sequence&#8221; which, despite some heavy-handed foreshadowing, seems to come out of nowhere, and seriously disrupts the timbre of prior events. While we can&#8217;t help but guess that Sanderson and Walter (giving appropriately creepy performances) will exact revenge for Spacek&#8217;s gentle rejection of their advances, the way in which this plays out seems more fitting for Spacek&#8217;s breakthrough movie <em>Carrie<\/em>; and the allegorical importance of the film&#8217;s title character (Sam Shepard in facial makeup) comes too late to feel authentic. Film fanatics are sure to feel torn in their feelings about <em>Raggedy Man<\/em>, which would likely be must-see if it weren&#8217;t for the film&#8217;s unfortunate denouement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sissy Spacek as Nita<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Spacek.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Spacek-1024x556.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"348\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-47103\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Spacek-1024x556.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Spacek-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Spacek-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Spacek-768x417.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Spacek-1536x834.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Spacek.png 1725w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Eric Roberts as Teddy<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Roberts.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Roberts-1024x548.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"343\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-47102\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Roberts-1024x548.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Roberts-300x161.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Roberts-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Roberts-768x411.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Roberts-1536x822.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Roberts.png 1717w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine attention to period detail<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Period-Detail.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Period-Detail-1024x551.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"344\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-47104\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Period-Detail-1024x551.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Period-Detail-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Period-Detail-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Period-Detail-768x414.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Period-Detail-1536x827.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Raggedy-Man-Period-Detail.png 1725w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s recommended for the strong central performances and authentic recreation of 1940s Texas. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0082969\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/horror\/raggedy-man-1981.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/raggedy-man-1981\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t quit this job; I&#8217;m frozen here.&#8221; Synopsis: During World War II, the divorced mother (Sissy Spacek) of two young boys (Henry Thomas and Carey Hollis, Jr.) takes up with a sailor (Eric Roberts), which arouses the envy of two local hoodlums (William Sanderson and Tracey Walter). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Romance Single Mothers Sissy Spacek Films Small Town America World War Two Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: Peary is an enormous fan of Sissy Spacek&#8217;s performance as Nita&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6503\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6503"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67211,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6503\/revisions\/67211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}