A Death in the Family

James Agee's novel A Death in the Family, which appeared two years after his fatal 1955 heart attack, made history as the first posthumously published novel to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Previously adapted as the play All the Way Home (itself a Pulitzer winner) and later as a movie in 1963, this 2002 PBS production of Agee's classic, set in Knoxville, Tennessee, circa 1915, focuses on the aftermath of a fatal car accident that leaves the young Mary Follet (Annabeth Gish) a widow and her son Rufus (Austin Wolff) without a father. The complexity of Rufus' acceptance of his father's passing, mirrored against the inability of his mother to fully come to terms with the loss, is touching and often painful to watch, and Gish and especially young Wolff fill their roles beautifully, bringing vibrant readings to Agee's masterwork. If this mounting tones down the harsher undercurrents of racism in the original text (this is a too-careful politically correct view of old Dixie), the film nevertheless compensates with a visual artistry behind the camera (thanks to director Gil Cates) and in front (thanks to rich art direction and costume design). Considering the rather paltry movie offerings so far this year, it's a shame this made-for-TV production wasn't released theatrically, as it might well have snagged some Oscar nominations. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)