Message from Nam (1993)

Beautiful, moving film.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Miss R.Mclanahan,adored by many for her work on "The Golden Girls", sets the tone with an hysterical performance as a Grand Guignol type Southern mother even Tennessee Williams would have thought twice about inventing. She winces,she wrings her hands,she sobs,she pats her hair..I don't recall her actually saying "Well,I declare" but it must have been very tempting. Her rebellious daughter (well,it was 1964) decides to go to Berkeley instead of a nice Southern college and despite the warnings of her Mammy (yes,really),falls in love with the first bloke she sets eyes on as if cursed by the Bad Fairy. It is the beginning of the Anti - War protests and...well,you can make up the rest yourself. Her man gets drafted and killed so quickly it's almost rude. She gets a job on his daddy's newspaper(how convenient is that?) to see for herself what it's like on the lot where they made "M.A.S.H. and discovers early on that her blusher gets smudged real easy under fire. She falls for another soldier-boy and he buys the farm too. By now I'm aching to switch to the Shopping Channel where there's a special on Tanzanite by I won't give up so easy so I stay on to the end which re-enacts the Fall of Saigon rather less convincingly than the stage show in London. I will protect the identities of the other artistes involved with Ms McLanahan in ruining my Saturday afternoon,I just hope their cheques cleared.

The acting was awful, but the plot was enough to keep you interested in sticking around for the full 4 hours. For a snowed-in Sunday, this is a good bet. My husband was even watching it! The film stayed true to the book, although some characters were not able to be fleshed out as much. The predictability of the movie continues until the last half-hour.

I saw this movie a few years ago and I thought it was wicked. It was so romantic and I cried every time that Paxton did.. She was such a strong girl. I think the best thing she did in that movie was try to find Tony. I think he was the best thing that happened to her in her whole experience.

Message from Nam is my favourite of all of the Danielle Steel adaptations - and I do have them all! I could watch this movie back to back two or three times at least and not get bored.I can't really express how much I love this film and how much of my day I spend thinking about it! The whole premise and setting seem so... appropriate. The acting is TV movie, but with standout performances from the two leads, who not only seem to fit the parts perfectly, but seem to fit one another too. Not to mention that Ted Marcoux is gorgeous looking... but anyway!If you get a chance to see it, I would highly recommend a look.