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A Buena Vista release. Written Louis Sacher; directed by Andrew Davis; starring Signorney Weaver and Jon Voight. Released to DVD on September 23, 2003. 
Holes is an extremely ambitious and smart movie hiding within the confines of a decidedly average film. Like Neil LaBute’s Possession, Holes features two stories at the core of its plot. One, taking place during the 19th century, features the exploits of the renowned bandit, Kissing Kate Barlow (Patricia Arquette). The other, taking place in present day, focuses on Stanley Yelnats (Shia LeBeouf), an unlucky young teenager who is mistakenly convicted of stealing a pair of shoes and sent to a juvenile detention camp deep in the Texas outback. There at Camp Greenlake, Yelnats–that’s Stanley backwards–and his tent mates are required to dig a large hole each day as part of their government sponsored rehabilitation. However, as Yelnats and the other boys soon learn, there may be more to their digging than they had initially assumed. Directed by Andrew Davis (The Fugitive), Holes is presented to the audience with little affectation or overt flair. Outside of Davis’ decision to include slow-motion speed ramps whenever anything somewhat important happens on screen, the material is laid out before the viewer in a neat and efficient manner that greatly helps the end product. Adapted by Louis Sachar from his novel of the same name, Holes’ script is self-contained and spirited. The true star of the film though is LeBeouf, in his breakout role here as Yelnats. Composed and calm with a bemused look on his face throughout, LeBeouf captures the essence of the good-hearted Stanley without ever seeming over-the-top or maudlin. Davis has some trouble with the pacing of the film–that will happen when you are trying to tell two different stories at once–but this is a warm and entertaining film that is on par with the best non-animated children’s films of the last decade.
jackson casey yes, it's true: In one of the ‘wanted’ posters for Kate Barlow, it mentions that she robbed the Chicago Pacific Railroad. Chicago Pacific is also the name of director Andrew Davis’ production company. |
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