A Gathering of Old Men (1987)

• Year: 1987
• Released: 10 May 1987
• Country: United States, West Germany
• Adwords: Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. 1 nomination total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093076/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_gathering_of_old_men
• Metacritics:
• Available in: 720p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: PG
• Genre: Drama
• Runtime: 91 min
• Writer: Charles Fuller, Ernest J. Gaines
• Director: Volker Schlöndorff
• Cast: Louis Gossett Jr., Richard Widmark, Holly Hunter
• Keywords: louisiana,

6.5/10

A Gathering of Old Men Storyline

A regular day in a Louisiana sugarcane plantation changes course when a local white farmer is shot in self defense. A group of old, black men takes a courageous step by coming forward en masse to take responsibility for the killing of a white racist, whom one of their members has shot. As the Sheriff confronts the suspects, the young plantation owner stands alone in her daring defense of this group of men, provoking racial tension that makes a compelling drama.—Echo Bridge Home Entertainment

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A Gathering of Old Men Movie Reviews

“There Comes A Day”

It’s 1987 and there are still parts of the Deep South that haven’t quite digested the changes that civil rights have brought. One of them is this bayou parish in Cajun Louisiana where a man who was from a noted white Cajun family was busy running down a black man for sport. Out from a window emerges a shotgun and he’s killed.

The woman who leases the property on which most of these black people share crop is Holly Hunter and she means well, but has a patronizing attitude towards ‘her’ people. The man from whose house the shotgun was fired from is Lou Gossett.

But shotguns leave no forensics and as Gossett’s contemporaries gather all with shotguns all recently fired any one of them could have done the deed. And as the movie unfolds they all give rather good motives for the crime.

Sheriff Richard Widmark has to sort it all out and keep at bay an element in the white community that hasn’t quite accepted civil rights.

A Gathering of Old Men features a bunch of fine performances by some black actors already qualified for Social Security and Lou Gossett who is made up to look like one. The ending in terms of the crime itself and Widmark’s handling of the case might surprise you, but I think it’s a just one, given the times.

A fine made for TV movie with a Spartacus connection

It’s a good film for its time with a long list of accomplished and recognizable actors, many in the twilight of their careers, including Woody Strode who may be best known for playing Draba in film Spartacus. And like the ending of Spartacus where all the slaves rise up and say “I am Spartacus” these actors all claim to have shot the redneck Beau. Richard Widmark’s portrayal of a Cajun sheriff is a little hard to accept but at least they were smart enough not to have these actors try and use a Cajun accent.

some great actor with limited tension

In the Louisiana sugarcane fields, white farmer Beau Boutan is chasing a black man Charlie. Charlie seeks shelter at the home of Mathu (Louis Gossett Jr.) and Beau is shot to death. Candy Marshall (Holly Hunter) arrives to see Mathu with a shot gun. She gathers a group of black locals to defend Mathu and tries to claim the shooting for herself. Her family used to own the vast land. The local whites are mostly Cajuns who leased the land from Marshall. The group of elderly blacks start claiming the shooting for themselves. Lou Dimes (Will Patton) tries to talk Candy down. Sheriff Mapes (Richard Widmark) investigates the shooting with too many willing suspects. Beau’s progressive brother Gilbert returns home from college urging caution but anger is rising.

I need the movie to start with a definitive year. The book is supposed to be set in the 70s. The lack of a date leaves me questioning whether it’s 1987. The decade makes a big difference. The list of black actors is stacked. Louis Gossett Jr. isn’t even the best. The best is probably Joe Seneca. The Cajun side needs better actors. They are mostly a bunch random white thugs. The story has potential but the tension is limited.