The Year That Trembled (2002)

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Based on a novel by Scott Lax that I was not familiar with, "The Year That Trembled" takes twelve months in the lives of Vietnam-era Ohioans and turns it into a very special episode of "American Dreams."

Jonathan Brandis is sullen but idealistic writer Casey, secretly in love with his recently fired idealistic teacher Helen (Marin Hinkle). Helen is married to idealistic law clerk Charlie (Jonathan M. Woodward), who is involved in some sort of lawsuit concerning the 1970 Kent State shootings. Idealistic Judy (Meredith Monroe) and FBI undercover agent Isaac (Jay R. Ferguson) are busy protesting the draft, which will soon affect Charlie, Casey, and a stoner named Hairball (Charlie Finn), who has no idealistic ideas.

I have at least half a dozen other characters' names written down in my notes, from the token minority who worships both Buddha and Jimi Hendrix to that little girl from "The Wonder Years" all grown up. Therein lies the major malfunction of the film. Screenwriter/director Craven tries so hard to cram everything in, the viewer is overwhelmed, especially when the movie feels like a bunch of outtakes glued together to make a story. Casey is a writer, the title comes from Walt Whitman, but what does Casey write? Much lawsuit talk is bandied about, but you would need a J.D. degree to understand just what is going on. I thought I was going to have to break out a flow chart to keep track of everyone. Having former child actors and some comedians (Fred Willard, Martin Mull, Henry Gibson) in such a heavy-handed drama feels a lot like stunt casting. I thought two blonde characters, Jennifer (Kiera Chaplin) and Judy, were the same person for close to ten minutes of the film's running time.

"The Year That Trembled"'s heart is in the right place, and the film almost comes to life when one major character is actually sent to Vietnam. However, when a film trudges along under its own moral outrage, without getting the viewer to feel empathy, it fails.

Stats:
(2002) 104 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Jay Craven
-Screenplay by Jay Craven, Additional Writing by Hathalee Higgs, based on the novel by Scott Lax
-Cast: Jonathan Brandis, Marin Hinkle, Jonathan M. Woodward, Meredith Monroe, Jay R. Ferguson, Charlie Finn, Fred Willard, Martin Mull, Henry Gibson, Matt Salinger, Danica McKellar, Erik Jensen, Sascha Stanton Craven
(R)