King of the Hill

Director Steven Soderbergh based his third feature film, 1993's King of the Hill, on A.E. Hotchner's memoir about life as an adolescent during the Depression, recreating early-1930s St. Louis as seen through the eyes of a hopeful boy in an increasingly desperate situation. Jesse Bradford stars as Aaron, a smart, creative, and generous kid who spins stories to hide the truth: namely, that his family is broke and living in a hotel. Over the course of the film, Aaron's younger brother, Sullivan (Cameron Boyd), is sent to live with relatives; his frail mother (Lisa Eichhorn) is checked into a sanitarium; and his father (Jeroen Krabbé) all but abandons Aaron in order to take a job as a traveling salesman. As his life unravels, Aaron grows increasingly isolated and desperate, but he's also very resourceful and resilient. Soderbergh doesn't flinch from the hard realities of life during the Depression, but he suggests the worst rather than showing it, illuminating the drama in sepia colors brightened by the summer sun. Co-starring Adrien Brody, Spalding Gray, Katherine Heigl, and Lauryn Hill, King of the Hill is presented in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, with extras including 1995's The Underneath (Soderbergh's fourth feature, essentially making this a double-bill release), interviews with Soderbergh and Hotchner, a video essay, and a booklet. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)