"The Year that Trembled" tells the tense story of young writer Casey Pedersen (former child actor Jonathan Brandis, who committed suicide one year after the movie was released) and his friends, who have to face the Vietnam Draft Lottery in the early 1970's.Based on a Scott Lax novel, "The Year that Trembled" has a compelling premise; however, the predominantly young cast isn't as convincing as in other Jay Craven's movies (veterans Henry Gibson and Fred Willard are always a pleasure to watch, though). Meredith Monroe, of "Dawson's Creek" fame, makes the best impression; she was pretty good in a brief appearance in the made-for-TV flick "Fathers and Sons" and has proved she's got talent. It's curious to see Danica McKellar (the cute girl from "The Wonder Years") in a small part. Although not the best Jay Craven film, "The Year that Trembled" has some inspired, sensitive moments and is worth a visit. My vote: 6.5/10.

Movie was very interesting. Would have been even better if the DVD had captionings or subtitles, which it didn't have. Otherwise I thought the movie was well done. The actual footages throughout the movie were very interesting! And I enjoyed Jonathan Brandis' performance (hard to believe he's gone for good).

This is one of those things you marvel at: why did Martin Mull, Henry Gibson and Fred Willard do this? They couldn't have done it for the money. This film is so cheap that they have Fred carrying a kid to Canada on his moped (top speed 20 mph) from the Cleveland area. You know this because there's a sign by the side of the road that says" Border Crossing." He gives his daughter a present wrapped in crudely chopped up construction paper (they couldn't have sent someone to the local CVS for 50 cents worth of wrapping paper?) The make up seems to have been done by the local undertaker - Henry Gibson's face looks downright cooked.And these are minor concerns. The continuity, the dialogue, the plot! Oy! For those of you who have no idea of what happened at Kent State 30 some years ago - this ain't gonna help!

To me, this agreeable independent film is exactly what movie making should be about. There is a lot of heart in this story about an introspective young man and his friends dealing with the effects of an unpopular war on their small town lives. The film adaptation of the novel "The Year that Trembled" craftily inundates the peaceful setting of a farmhouse in a meadow with all the passions of 1970 anti-Vietnam War activities ranging from the serious to the inane. Reel footage from the period is artfully infused into the film, as are new characters whose presence and values help explain the legal, political and emotional moods of the era to those unfamiliar with that time. The result was a film that, although choppy at times, was most enjoyable.The characters were all well played. The only disappointment for me was that the part played by Casey (the book's eloquent main character) was diminished in order to develop the other roles.