The Yellow Handkerchief (2008)
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 48
Fresh: 32 | Rotten: 16
Small and intimate -- occasionally to a fault -- The Yellow Handkerchief rises above its overly familiar ingredients thanks to riveting performances from William Hurt and Kristen Stewart.
Average Rating: 6.7/10
Critic Reviews: 21
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 5
Small and intimate -- occasionally to a fault -- The Yellow Handkerchief rises above its overly familiar ingredients thanks to riveting performances from William Hurt and Kristen Stewart.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 12,709
Movie Info
A band of outsiders takes to the highways in this touching independent drama. Brett (William Hurt) is a petty criminal who is eager to turn his life around after spending six years in jail. Brett is looking for a ride home to Louisiana, and happens upon a pair of teenagers up for a road trip -- Martine (Kristen Stewart), a 15-year-old girl whose attempts to catch the eye of a boy she loves have ended in failure, and Gordy (Eddie Redmayne), a geeky outcast wishing he could find somewhere to fit
Cast
-
William Hurt
Brett Hanson -
Maria Bello
May -
Kristen Stewart
Martine -
Eddie Redmayne
Gordy -
Kaori Momoi
Motel Owner -
Emanuel K. Cohn
Male Doctor -
Nurith Cohn
Female Nurse -
Veronica Russell
Pregnant Woman, Warden ... -
Grover Coulson
Farnsworth -
Lisha Brock
Waitress -
Lucy Faust
Snotty Girl -
John Gregory Willard
Blonde -
Rebecca Newman
Ilene -
Ross Britz
Friend -
Marshall Cain
Ferry Driver -
Aimee Spring Fortier
Teenage Mother -
Ross Francis
Boyfriend -
Douglas M. Griffin
Policeman -
Jeffrey Galpin
Policeman #2 -
Ashlynn Ross
Delivery Girl -
Tanner Gill
Man in Rain -
Eric F. Adams
Bank Accessor -
Shane Tingle
Ferry Driver #2 -
Michael Kennedy
Tony Freckles -
Paige Pareti
Girl in Video -
Bello Nock
Bello Nock -
Victor Brunette
Chippy White -
Holly O'Quinn
Female Nurse -
-
Noelle Bercy
Dancer 1 -
Dawna Williams
Waitress
ADVERTISEMENT
The Yellow Handkerchief Trailer & Photos
All Critics (48) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (32) | Rotten (16)
This is basically brooding people doing awkward things in a humid environment.
Top CriticThe only positive thing about the aimless film The Yellow Handkerchief is the idea that William Hurt may be ready for his Jeff Bridges moment.
The unhurried direction of Udayan Prasad and the unafraid choices of the sure-footed cast keep this character-driven drama afloat.
The Yellow Handkerchief is a love story. Two, really. At its center is the sweetly fractured ticking of a broken heart on the mend.
This modest but moving indie ensemble piece puts three estimable actors in a convertible, sets them on a long drive to post-Katrina Louisiana and lets the character dynamics do the rest.
The Yellow Handkerchief is a surprisingly moving drama -- a throwback to the small, character-driven indies of yesteryear.
Taking time off from vampire infatuation but still into Native male magnets, Kristen Stewart does a snobby sexpot, while the bayou weepie conjures a relentless alien place where crocodiles, snakes and eccentric when not unhinged redneck humans roam free
A well-acted little film, The Yellow Handkerchief captures the loneliness of these characters and the sparks of hope they harbor, despite everything.
This uplifting film is an indie gem with a wonderful payoff that will bring you to tears. The acting is superlative and makes this emotionally moving experience good to the last drop.
When The Yellow Handkerchief finally hooks into the meat of Hamill's source story, the narrative tension puts enough wind in the film's sails to arrive at its corny but sentimentally satisfying conclusion.
William Hurt and Kristen Stewart and a long, sleepy road
Unfortunately, the precision and presence Hurt brings to the table aren't enough to carry this warmed-over Southern melodrama.
Never feels like anything but a movie with its characters who constantly say what they're feeling and doing and it never once feels genuine or organic.
The story arc of Handkerchief is entirely predictable, and the direction is pedestrian. But its pleasures are to be found in the graceful acting of Hurt and Bello...
It's a road movie, so everyone argues, then confides in one another, then come out besties in the end. And if you can't guess where the central, broken romance is heading, finding out is as easy as a song.
Prasad's take on the well-traveled folk tale (it didn't originate with Hamill -- he was just smart enough to put it down on paper) won't win any Oscars...
Audience Reviews for The Yellow Handkerchief
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
-
- Gordy: This is your fate. Now you gotta play this out till the end or else you're gonna walk around like a ghost the rest of your life.
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for The Yellow Handkerchief yet.
What's Hot On RT
Pictures from a zombie nation
Woody Allen in San Francisco
See the Desolation of Smaug trailer!
Where does This Is the End rank?
Latest News on The Yellow Handkerchief
January 22, 2008:
William Hurt Sheds Light on Iron Man/Incredible Hulk CrossoverAn Avengers movie starring the principals from various Marvel-related superhero films still seems...
Fresh Links
Featured
Movie: ID: 770682599 Title: The Yellow Handkerchief Release Date: 2010-02-26 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 3 Status: 1
The Looks of Johnny Depp
To celebrate the star's birthday, BuzzSugar looks at the many faces of Johnny Depp.
10 Egregious Product Placements
Rolling Stone wonders if The Internship goes too far... then provides 10 examples of movies that did.
Horror Movie Mistakes
Moviefone offers up 8 of the most obvious glaring errors in popular fright flicks.
10 Bad Movies That Look Great
Sometimes even terrible movies can be beautiful; here are 10 of them, from HitFix.
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Featured on RT
- Video Interviews with Cast & Crew of Monsters University 0
- Digital Multiplex: 21 & Over, Quartet, and More 1
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Jack the Giant Slayer and Quartet 21
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Man of Steel Sets June Record 101
- Weekly Ketchup: Man of Steel Sequel In the Works 188
- Five Favorite Films with Joss Whedon 126
- Bonus Footage of the Cast & Crew of Man of Steel 1
Top Headlines
Foreign Titles
- Das gelbe Segel (DE)
William Hurt delivers another remarkable performance as Brett. Like few other actors, Hurt is able to capture the depth of a damaged soul, a man devastated by his luck and driven to despise his own role in the movie of his life. His scenes with Maria Bello are heart-warming, and he even makes Kristen Stewart look like a real actress. With Hurt by her side, Stewart abandons all her acting crutches -- clutching her hair, contorting her face into a semblance of human emotion, deadpan reactions that say nothing about her character. Hurt does more than make Stewart an actress; in her scenes with him, he makes her an interesting human being. I've seen many of Stewart's films, and this is the only one in which she is bearable.
Director Udayan Prasad does a good job of visually capturing regret. A bare foot, someone walking by - a multitude of quotidian event can spark a reverie of regret, and Prasad turns a lazy narrative technique into a visual representation of Brett's inner life.
The plot, however, is disappointing. Martine and Gordy don't have compelling backstories, and we are given no clue as to why Brett's story has such an emotion impact on them. When we finally discover the reason for Brett's incarceration, the event is a let-down compared to the build-up, and there isn't any evidence to convince the audience that Brett has learned anything during his time in prison; in fact, the film reinforces the fact that people don't change, and thus it's hard to root for Brett, even though Hurt's performance makes it difficult not to care for him at least a little bit.
Overall, I don't see why William Hurt can't play Edward or Jacob or both; at least the leading lady wouldn't be so insufferable.