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Writer and director Steven Soderbergh weaves a fabric of intensely rich characters that captivates the viewer into a world of quiet drama. Based on AE Hotchner's memoirs of his childhood in St Louis during the Depression, this is a tale of seemingly insurmountable bad luck that befalls the 12-year-old Aaron Kurlander (Jesse Bradford).
His little brother is sent away to stay with relatives, his mother is forced to go into a sanatorium, and his father, in desperation, takes a sales job in another state. This leaves young Aaron very much alone in a crummy hotel, where all of the guests are steadily being evicted as the depression really starts to bite.
The circumstances are undeniably sad, but Soderbergh is careful not to mire this film in mawkish sentiment, or engage in obvious emotional manipulation. It's never in any doubt that Jesse is a resourceful kid, and moments of pathos are counterbalanced with humour that's born of Aaron's inherent resilience.
A talented supporting cast vividly paints this finely layered town of characters who crumble before Aaron. He's determined not to be sucked under, and never gives up trying to create his own luck in a town that has all but run out of it. This wouldn't work so well if it weren't for brilliant acting from Jesse Bradford, who clearly understands the balance that Soderbergh is trying to strike between the plucky Aaron and the desperately disillusioned adults that surround him. As stories of hope and spirit go, this is a subtle marvel.
"King of the Hill" is on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ2 at 12.40am, the early hours of Saturday morning, 5th May 2001.
