A Movie You Might Have Missed #48: The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

She raised 10 kids on 25 words or less.

Julianne Moore portrays Evelyn Ryan, a 1950s housewife with 10 children. Submitting jingles, slogans and songs to product contests, she wins prizes and cash that help their family scrape by. Her husband, Kelly, (Woody Harrelson) is an alcoholic who spends a hefty portion of his paycheck on the nightly fifth of whiskey and six-pack of beer so Evelyn's talent with words is much needed.

This started off fun and cute, with stylized presentation that made us think of Pushing Daisies. Then, just when we thought there wasn't more to say, it veered into deeper waters thanks to the complex issues caused by the alcoholic husband. Although it is treated more lightly than in some movies, the film's power comes from watching how Evelyn copes with her husband and the issues his dysfunction raises in the family.

NOTE: I subsequently read the book and found this movie to be a very good adaptation of it. Both are worth experiencing for their own worth.