The Lottery (1996)

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

This classic tale of misguided faith and tradition is done a horrible injustice in this made for TV adaptation. It utilizes little of the original suspense found in the story surrounding the question of "what is the lottery" and does little to further the themes of tradition and faith. Rather, the TV adaptation plods around a pre-story and end with the worst "gotcha" contrivance of an ending possible. I'm sure if Jackson was around today to see this sham of a film, she'd feel as if she'd won the lottery and was being stoned by the script and its direction. What particularly upsets me about this very poor adaptation is that it alters so much of the story as to make it less about the town and much more about a budding romance and a boy from the big city. Perhpas the only redeeming feature of the film is some OK character acting by some rather well-known Hollywood character actors. Other than some good performances (which are buried at times by the lame script), this film lacks the substance of the Jackson piece.

The problem with this movie is that there really aren't any surprises. It takes Shirley Jackson's very short story about a New England town's annual ritual and uses it as a basis for a detective story as Dan Cortese comes to New Hope, with the hope of uncovering his past and his father's deathbed request. Even someone who has never heard of Shirley Jackson can figure out the town's secret long before Cortese does (it gives it away right in the opening credits!). The direction is okay and the acting passable, but the script fails to bring out anything new in the familiar story. ****spoiler warning**** Don't you think the FBI would be on to the town after fifty years and be grateful when a witness came forward?

This film is truly an illustration that some traditions shouldn't be kept. If a tradition that has long been upheld causes extreme cruelty or death of those who follow it, then it should be abandoned. There are still traditions out there that are just as gruesome in real life and yet, just as the one in the film, are allowed to continue. Just as in the film, people become so blinded by their traditions that they sometimes forget the difference between right and wrong. Unspeakable acts are committed, yet those blinded by tradition just stand by and allow them to take place.

This modern day adaptation of the short story by Shirley Daniels is a gripping horror tale that successfully grabs the attention of our modern day teenagers while also making the point Ms. Daniels intended. This story warns us that sometimes traditions can be negative, and we must always stand up for what is truly right. I would love to get a copy of this movie for my own collection.