Blue Sky

Starring Jessica Lange—who recently returned to glamorous fame in the TV series American Horror Story—this underappreciated gem was largely ignored in 1994 even though Lange's sultry star wattage shines full blast as the disturbed wife of a career Army officer overseeing nuclear testing in the early 1960s. Blue Sky was the last film by director Tony Richardson, who died shortly after filming in 1991. The three-year delay in release took some of the luster away from this touching character drama about a bipolar Southern belle whose raging moods constantly test the limits of her adoring husband (Tommy Lee Jones) and two teenage daughters. The period details of Cold War-era military bases are deftly captured, as are the emotions that impact the whole family as the matriarch caroms between bouts of rage, manic charisma, and wildly inappropriate sexual behavior. Although the somewhat more cumbersome overarching plot about the Army's evil conspiracy to cover up accidental radiation fallout is less satisfying, this is a fine actors' showcase for Lange and Jones. Recommended. (T. Fry)