The Whole Wide World

Vincent D'Onofrio is one of those chameleonesque "that guy" character actors. He was the put-upon sad sack in Full Metal Jacket, Orson Welles in Ed Wood and the alien-possessed farmer in Men in Black. That guy. Hollywood's best-kept secret makes the most of a rare starring role as Robert E. Howard, the brooding, ferocious pulp fiction writer who created Conan the Barbarian. A pre-Jerry Maguire Rene Zellweger confirms her new-found star status as Novalyne Price Ellis, the West Texas schoolteacher who befriended him and upon whose memoir, One Who Walked Alone (written when she was 76!), this poignant sleeper is based. Highly recommended.DVD Review--September 9, 2003--Columbia TriStar, 106 min., PG, $19.95--Debuting on DVD in a handsome transfer with a solid Dolby Digital surround soundtrack, Dan Ireland's excellent true love story comes with a fine commentary track featuring Ireland, co-star Vincent D'Onofrio, screenwriter Michael Scott Myers, co-producer Benjamin Mouton, and composer Harry Gregson-Williams (who shared score credit with Hans Zimmer). Notably absent is Renee Zellweger, but she appears in a charming 12-minute interview with Ireland. Bottom line: a wonderful film that never really got the attention it deserved now gets a welcome second chance on DVD. (K. Lee Benson)