Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 13, 1995                   TAG: 9501170033
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`NOBODY'S FOOL' IS HOLLYWOOD AT ITS BEST

The key is star Paul Newman's performance - one of the best of his career - in a story that's warmly emotional and humorous without a hint of sentimentality. But film is still a collaborative business, and this time all of the parts complement and reinforce each other.

Everything fits, from writer-director Robert Benton's adaptation of Richard Russo's novel, to John Bailey's photography to Howard Shore's score to David Gropman's production design to a first-rate supporting cast.

Newman is Donald "Sully" Sullivan, a 60-year-old ne'er-do-well in the upstate New York hamlet of North Bath. Nothing has ever worked out for Sully. Not his marriage; it ended early and badly, and left him a virtual stranger to his son Peter (Dylan Walsh). Not his career; lack of ambition and a bum knee have reduced him picking up construction jobs where he can. He usually works for Carl Robuck (Bruce Willis), whose self-destructive habits seem to mirror Sully's own.

Maybe that's why Sully can flirt so easily with Carl's wife, Toby (Melanie Griffith). But then, he has always had a way with women. Miss Beryl (Jessica Tandy), his eighth-grade teacher and current landlady, is the only person in town who still has faith that Sully will amount to something, and she's not shy about telling him so.

Filling out the ensemble are Rub Squeers (Pruitt Taylor Vince), Sully's best friend and co-worker; Wirf (Gene Saks), his one-legged semi-competent lawyer; Judge Flatt (Philip Bosco), who's far too familiar with Sully's complaints; Officer Raymer (Philip Seymour Hoffman), sworn to defend North Bath from Sully's lawlessness; Birdy (Margo Martindale), Sully's favorite bartender; and Will (Alexander Goodwin), the grandson Sully barely knows.

In the bleak, snowy days between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, the conflicts and emotional bonds within that group come into sharper focus. Some are resolved; some aren't. Some are wonderfully accurate and funny; others seem forced in comparison. Structurally, the film is much like Benton's "Places in the Heart," weaving the separate plotlines into a satisfying whole.

Just as importantly, Benton understands small-town life and presents it without a hint of condescension. He got the characters right. These aren't the people usually seen on screen, even in films that are meant to be about middle-class Americans. They're warts-and-all, rude, flawed, completely believable folks. All of the performances are fine, but the restrained work by Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith is a real surprise.

Of course, the recent death of Jessica Tandy adds an extra poignancy to her scenes with Newman, but those are the real emotional center of the film. The two veterans have seldom had better material to work with, or better support.

So, take this review as an unqualified rave. "Nobody's Fool" is serious Hollywood entertainment at its best.

Nobody's Fool ****

A Paramount release playing at the Tanglewood Mall. 108 min. Rated R for strong language, brief nudity, mild violence.