The first thing that I saw when watching this rather bizarre drama is the resemblance of the train station where grandfather Bruce Dern picks up young Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick is its resemblance to the one in "Nothing Sacred" where Fredric March encounters his first New Englander, both in rural Vermont, and both communities filled with some real stubborn folks. Dern and wife Genevieve Bujold obviously hate each other but have maintained their vows in spite of mutual resentment. As the young boy gets used to his new surroundings, he finds out all sorts of things with his family, with estranged parents Brent Crawford and Jessica Hecht popping in and out separately, having plenty of secrets of their own, one which could get Hecht into all sorts of legal trouble.
The conflicts between Dern and Bujold leads to some interesting scenes, especially as they take individual interests in their grandson while never speaking to each other. Bujold stares coldly off into the distance on one side of their carriage with Seamus in the center, and Dern on the other, looking straight forward with little emotion. Only once do they seem to be reflecting on any element of happiness, and more often than not spend most of their time together in court waiting for arbitration on cases of which they disagree, including the necessity of electricity for Dern's windmill. Smaller roles includes their two daughters (who have ancient Egyptian related names), Seamus's classmates an equally bizarre schoolteacher who in one scene comes off as a real tyrant, but bullied by a female student who has done all sorts of cruel things to her. Not uninteresting, but more a slice of life character driven drama rather than one with a strong plot.
The conflicts between Dern and Bujold leads to some interesting scenes, especially as they take individual interests in their grandson while never speaking to each other. Bujold stares coldly off into the distance on one side of their carriage with Seamus in the center, and Dern on the other, looking straight forward with little emotion. Only once do they seem to be reflecting on any element of happiness, and more often than not spend most of their time together in court waiting for arbitration on cases of which they disagree, including the necessity of electricity for Dern's windmill. Smaller roles includes their two daughters (who have ancient Egyptian related names), Seamus's classmates an equally bizarre schoolteacher who in one scene comes off as a real tyrant, but bullied by a female student who has done all sorts of cruel things to her. Not uninteresting, but more a slice of life character driven drama rather than one with a strong plot.