The Crickets Dance

source: The Crickets Dance

For some reason I don't quite understand...I guess it has something to do with all the trips I took through coastal Georgia heading for Florida to visit my mother...I tend to be attracted to films about 'the low country'. That's the main reason this film caught my attention to begin with. There are a lot of things to like about this film. I rather liked Kristen Renton and Maurice Johnson as the two lead characters (at least in the present time). I liked the setting (that house looked familiar...used in other films?). And I liked the overall theme that to SOME degree at least, with SOME people, there is a 'new South'. That's the hopeful message here. On the other hand, there are some things that I don't like about this film. There were times when I thought there was a lot of inconsistency in the story, details when I thought, 'well, that doesn't seem quite right'. And then there was that coincidence that two people who didn't know each other in the past, but have an historical connection they didn't know about, both end up to be lawyers, who happen to have to share an office space, and eventually discover their connection, becoming an interracial couple. In movies we often have to suspend disbelief, but that coincidence was difficult for me to overlook. It kinda nagged at me. However, when all was said and done, I rather enjoyed this film. The overall message was a good one. And they certainly gave us two characters to hate...who come to fitting ends. What I had to do to enjoy this film...and I did enjoy it...was to relax my standards just a bit in terms of critiquing the screenplay while I was watching it.

I'm sure that this movie will have some appeal for naive idiots who like to think that racism doesn't exist anymore, but the simple truth is that it may take another century before this can be put behind us! It's far too simplistic to believe that everyone can ignore over two centuries of prejudice and bigotry! I personally would like to see interracial marriages and the resulting progeny eventually result in a universally recognized lack of racial distinction so the world can move ahead! Sadly, this problem seems to be indemic like a virus that keeps mutating but remains just as dangerous as the previous ones. I have personally been on both ends of the treatment by others...on one hand, I have met a large number of black people, mostly women who took me to their home and fed me saying that I was too skinny! I'm Caucasian and drove car haulers for many years. However, I also lived through the Watts riots! The troubles I had (doing hot mop roofing at the time) was never with the mothers or fathers, but with the pre-teen kids who were inherently (?) prejudiced toward white people and would taunt us from the ground. I mostly just ignored them and they went away eventually. This movie was interesting to me, but I had a hard time getting all the way to the end because I couldn't stand to watch what was undoubtedly the truth about how horribly black were treated by plantation slave owners! I forced myself to watch until the end. Happy to see what happened, but I'm still not convinced that the reality has changed, and, it probably won't happen in my lifetime or what's left of it, being that I am over 70 years old now! One can only hope that society will eventually become enlightened. Fingers crossed.

I didn't like the violence toward women, but that was the world then(it hasn't changed much in many countries). The slave scenes were triggering too (I could feel them) but that was the world then too but I LOVED the fact the N-word wasn't used. Absolutely lovely. Good on the author. Good on the production company.

This story deserved so much more. Unfortunately, the screenplay was poorly written and had no flow. We are left wondering the back story of these characters as they are thrown at us. Continuity is lacking. The costumes for the historical time period are incorrect. The integration of the story in history is inaccurate. I wanted to like it but I just can't.

BEST MOVIE I've seen this year, the transition between present and past is very hard to achieve at times but this Director did an excellent job. The writing of the script and the excellent performances of all the actors deserve an award. I must say the way the movie flowed kept you captivated between the two time periods . The deep south has always been a place I would love to visit. This movie will demand your attention from the beginning of the beautiful location to the unexpected and wonderful ending. A love story and thriller always has a making of a great movie.

The film was very cinematic. I was very impressed with the actors performances with each character carried its own weight. The director was able to bring the essence of the movie to life. And brought each scene to the center focal point of the audience. This movie is courageous, inspirational and a story that needs to be told.

This is a really touching story written and directed by Veronica Robledo. The actors were all lovely. We really enjoyed the relationship between the two contemporary leads, Kristen Renton and Maurice Johnson but all of the actors were quite good. The portayals of the two women in the past-friends for life Ophelia (played by Jaimie Butler) and Emmalaine (KateLynn E. Newberry) were especially wonderful and heartbreaking. The blend between the 1800s harsh and sometimes violent past and the modern day kindness works very well advancing the dance to the light and hope filled end. So happy to see a woman director bringing this meaningful story to the forefront with a strong vision and steady hand. She also keeps it from falling into gratuitous violence. Beautiful location. Nice cinematography. Put The Crickets Dance on your list to watch.

This is a good movie very well made. I was fortunate to visit the set one day with my husband. I got to meet the author of the book that the movie is based on. It was very cool. My husband had a small part in the movie so we had the chance to see it before it came out during one of the film festivals. I really enjoyed the movie. Great story line. Actors were awesome. Highly recommend it!

The director coaxed some great performances out of the actors, and the cinematography is beautiful as well. The juxtaposition between the past and the present was handled deftly and there are a lot of weighty themes to chew on. I was consistently engaged in the narrative. All in all, this is a great movie for a wide audience.