Review

Chicago gallery owner Madeleine is determined to sign the latest exponent of American primitivism, an old man who lives in the hills of North Carolina and is frequently confused regarding the current century. When George, her husband of six months, calls from the artist’s workplace to advise her to come down to see the work herself, she meets her in-laws for the first time — as a byproduct of a business trip. His parents live near the artist and George and Madeleine crash there while she pursues him. When urban sensibilities land in the middle of the Bible belt, the expected clashes of world views, values and expectations occur. But director Morrison, in his first feature directorial effort, avoids stereotype and surface triviality to deliver, in a unique voice and with quixotic personal style, a thoughtful examination of disparate people bound by family. Decades of personal history are conveyed in a single gesture, volumes are spoken in awkward silences, and stinging conflicts are put aside to meet the profound losses that are visited upon each human life. Amy Adams is a revelation as Ashley, the very pregnant wife of George’s moody brother. Ashley overflows with joy and anticipation of life’s possibilities. She’s in awe of Madeleine, whom she finds impossibly exotic, and full of optimistic expectation — which, for the most part, counterbalances an inner disquiet. Junebug is a rewarding journey reflecting the universality of any life’s most intimate moments.

 -- Ann Yarabinee