Northfork is a 2003 film directed by Michael Polish and written by Michael and Mark Polish. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2003 and later received a limited release in the United States on July 11, 2003. The film stars Duel Farnes, James Woods, Nick Nolte, Michele Hicks, Daryl Hannah, Anthony Edwards, Robin Sachs, Ben Foster, Claire Forlani, Clark Gregg, Kyle MacLachlan and Peter Coyote. This is the brothers' third film collaboration, after Twin Falls Idaho (1999) and Jackpot (2001).
Plot[]
The film's narrative consists of several interwoven subplots taking place in the town of Northfork, Montana circa 1955. A new dam is being built which will flood the valley of Northfork, and the town is in the midst of an evacuation. The narratives focus on several individuals who, for one reason or another, have yet to evacuate. Walter O'Brien (James Woods) and his son (Mark Polish) are on the evacuation team, helping to evacuate the last few inhabitants of Northfork. In return, the government will give them acres of lakeside property if they meet their evacuee quota. Father Harlan (Nick Nolte) is one such individual, who has stayed behind to care for Irwin (Duel Farnes), a dying orphan too weak to leave town. While the O'Briens and their co-workers encounter an array of unusual characters, Irwin discovers that he is the "unknown angel" through a suitcase with his angel wings in it and a bible with an angels feather telling his family 'story', and finds himself a family of angels (Daryl Hannah, Anthony Edwards, Ben Foster, and Robin Sachs) in his dreams, who he makes a deal with to take him 'a thousand miles'.
Cast[]
- Duel Farnes as Irwin
- James Woods as Walter O'Brien
- Nick Nolte as Father Harlan
- Peter Coyote as Eddie
- Claire Forlani as Mrs. Hadfield
- Clark Gregg as Mr. Hadfield (uncredited)
- Mark Polish as Willis O'Brien
- Kyle MacLachlan as Mr. Hope
- Michele Hicks as Mrs. Hope
- Ben Foster as Cod
- Daryl Hannah as Flower Hercules
- Robin Sachs as Cup of Tea
- Anthony Edwards as Happy
- Jon Gries as Arnold
- Rick Overton as Rudolph
- Douglas Sebern as Mayor
Reception[]
Northfork received mixed to positive reviews from critics and has a rating of 56% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 101 reviews with an average rating of 6 out of 10. The consensus states "Visually poetic, but may be too dramatically inert for some." The film also has a score of 64 on Metacritic based on 31 reviews.