Kansas, 1910. Widowed farmer Jacob Witting finds that taking care of both his farm and two children, Anna and Caleb, is too difficult to handle alone. John takes out an ad in a newspaper for a mail-order bride, to which the "plain and tall" Sarah Wheaton answers, soon traveling from Maine to Kansas to become John's wife. Despite the love that grows between Sarah and the family, Sarah finds herself homesick, and she must ultimately choose whether or not to stay.
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Sarah is a rather average and supposedly boring woman who comes to look after the children of a man whose wife died giving birth.At first glance it isn't much, but I read the book years ago and loved it so I figured I'd check out the movie. Sarah, despite being plain, is brave, caring, loves animals and becomes the mother the family never had. The acting was great and there were even some sad and suspenseful scenes. I'm not a big fan of movies taking place in the 1800's but this one was excellent, I'm surprised it doesn't have many reviews. If you ever see it for sale, don't pass it, up, and check out the short novel as well! This is surprisingly a very good movie.
Oh my God is such a wonderful film. I watched it on the channel Hallmark, and i tought that it will be boring, but i started to watch it, because there was Chris Walken (i heard he like Chris better like Christopher), and he is an amazing actor, and strangle sexy. The 2 children's are so nice and lovely, i think everybody wants such kind oh great kids:) Glenn Close is so nice ang beautiful in this film, and her role is also very good. A woman who tried to change old habits and and deep feelings. And there's a lovely ending!! Oh, and Mr. Walken is also great(like almost always). He plays perfectly the man who cant forget his wife and cant find the way to go on with 2 children's who lost their mothers but want live a normal life!! Great film i have seen it 5 times and i still love it!! 10/10
I had always heard good things about this film but never got around to seeing it. My 8 year old daughter loves books on the prairie life and we saw the video at the library so we watched it and we were both so moved, so impressed. A lovely film, wonderfully acted - Walken is a nice surprise - after a long, Hollywood career playing weirdos and sickos - he gives a fully realized, delicate, heartbreaking performance as a widower Kansas farmer. The children stay away from cliched, hammy acting and the whole thing is touching and sweet.
I remember reading the book, Sarah, Plain and Tall, as a small child, probably for school or something. In most cases, movies based on books are usually a let-down, but this movie, in my opinion, was even better than the book itself. It's a wonderful story of a young mail-order bride who travels from her home in Maine to the vast strangeness of undeveloped, prarie-town, Kansas. One of the things I really liked about this movie was that it didn't have any sticky-sweetness that is common in family films. Sarah, the main character, is far from perfect, and there is a constant battle-of-wills between her and Jacob. Probably the biggest conflict in the film, besides the fact that Sarah is extremely homesick, is that Jacob expects Sarah to be like his late wife--who seems to have been a quiet, gentle woman. Sarah is nice, but she is also stubborn and quick to speak her mind. She and Jacob have to come to terms with each other, over and over again. Jacob's character was well-written. He's a man trying to raise his family the best he knows how, but he can't seem to let go of his late wife. He blames himself for her death, and seems almost afraid to let his children remember her. He doesn't have much room in his heart for Sarah, but she barges in anyway, neatly disobeying him and breaking down the walls in his heart. The children were very good as well--Anna struggles with accepting Sarah, and her growing fondness towards her. Calab loves Sarah, simply because he is small and doesn't remember his real mother. I thought the story line was great, as was the actual casting. Glenn Close doesn't usually play such wholesome, family roles, but she actually pulled it off, which proves, of course, that's she's a terrific actress in any role. She was convincing as Sarah, and gave her a little added spice... Christopher Walken, also, was great as the father, who, I think, falls for Sarah without really realizing it. The children, played by Lexi Randell and Christopher Bell, fit snugly into their roles. The whole movie is a very touching family story. I give it ten stars, for a wonderful performance.