Photo Credit Jim Sheldon

For longtime John Sayles' fans Honeydripper is a bit of a departure. Where his works often challenge the audience--Matewan questioning the immorality of capitalist development and ambition; Sunshine State examining unchecked real estate expansion; and, Casa de los babys bringing to light questions about American imperialism and goodness-- all of which force an in-depth and harrowing examination of an emotion or idea, Honeydripper is a film geared into entirely different objectives, namely those purely of education and entertainment. It's a light-hearted affair, and although eminently rewatchable, not soul-splitting or thought-provoking beyond its surface layer.

A weighty ensemble piece with heavy influence from the oral tradition, Honeydripper's story is the type already known and beloved without question. As down on his luck bar owner Tyrone Purvis (Danny Glover) totters on the edge of losing his Honeydripper Lounge, aspiring musician Sonny Blake (Gary Clark Jr.) rides into town, homemade electric guitar in hand. Unaware of the far from socially settled environment of 1950s Harmony, Alabama, Sonny soon enough finds himself working for paltry wages and under the eyes of the law in line with the cotton picking gang. By a scheme of some strange and risky brilliance, Purvis, determined to save his bar, and assisted by friend Maceo (Charles S. Dutton), step-daughter China Doll (Yaya DaCosta) and, with hesitation, God-fearing wife Delilah (Lisa Gay Hamilton), arranges with the sheriff (Stacy Keach) to let Sonny out of jail for a one night engagement to play, under false pretense as grapevine renowned musician Guitar Sam, at the Honeydripper.

An underlying story of Purvis' own young adult mistakes builds an additional current of tension throughout the film, making a statement about the importance of solidarity and camaraderie in the face of prejudice. Roaming musician Possum (Keb’ Mo’) flows in and out of scenes as a mystic distillery of a greater, and now bygone, conscience.

While solid performances from Glover and Dutton are far from unexpected, newcomers DaCosta, Keach, Mo' and Clark Jr. enter Sayles' world organically, perfectly molding their characters with an earnestness that complements the film's storybook quality. In a weak step, however, a cameo by Mary Steenburgen, in character as Amanda Winship, a wealthy and bored Southern housewife, seems little more than a move of typecasting and stereotype. Keach pitch-perfect establishes the white privilege where Steenburgen, even as written, can only come across as superfluous.

With structural influence from theater and blues among other art forms, the film leans heavily on what Sayles will call in passing the "rhythm of the reveal." The story pieces fit together almost too perfectly, but it works here because of the homage to the oral tradition. It's not a film that depends on emotional uncertainty, stylism or cinematic innovation. It's a film that depends on a suspension of disbelief of the ilk one has while listening to a well-told campfire story.

Mining the audience for this specific storytelling mode is the major challenge of this true independently produced film. While traditional Sayles' fans may end up feeling outside the course of the narrative, the intrepid director may just have carved himself a new audience niche, one that appreciates the accessibility of a quintessentially innocent, thoughtful, patient and hopeful film. While certainly not profound or groundbreaking, Honeydripper has all those former qualities in spades, making it, just as its objectives strive for, an entertaining watch.

For more information on the film, visit http://honeydripper-movie.com.