Warm Springs

Before Franklin Delano Roosevelt shepherded America through the terrible, dark days of the Great Depression and World War II, he spent a period in the political wilderness, groomed for the highest office in the land but struck down by polio at age 39. Warm Springs is the story of Roosevelt's long journey back from despair and hopelessness to becoming ready, willing, and able to assume an enormous leadership role. Kenneth Branagh delivers a raw, courageous performance as FDR, estranged from his wife Eleanor (excellent work by Cynthia Nixon) and his political strategist (David Paymer) while reluctantly taking in the allegedly healing waters of Warm Springs, a shoddy spa in the Georgia backwoods. A miserable, drunken mess, Roosevelt is coached back to civilized behavior by the spa's folksy owner (Tim Blake Nelson) with the help of a physical therapist (Kathy Bates) who won't give up on the future president. Directed by 80-year-old Joseph Sargent (on a late-career roll following the success of his Something the Lord Made last year), Warm Springs illustrates the gross discrimination and outright loathing aimed at people with disabilities in America at that time, an unfairness that awakened a sense of mission in Roosevelt and set the stage for his return to the political arena. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Joseph Sargent and writer Margaret Nagle, five minutes of deleted scenes, and a four-minute “making-of” featurette. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a fine film.] (T. Keogh)