The Berkeley Beacon

Issue date: 10/13/05 Section: Arts and Entertainment

Media Credit: www.joblo.com Evelyn Ryan (Julianne Moore) writes jingles to feed her children in The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. Photo courtesy of www.joblo.com

She refused to see herself as the wife of a drunk. She refused to be a victim of her circumstances. She calmly acknowledged the disasters of her life, but she would not submit to them. She also managed to raise 10 children. Just another stereotypical, dim-witted housewife? Try again.

Evelyn Ryan managed to keep her family above water by writing contest-winning commercial jingles in the 1950s. She also remained an eternal optimist, even though she was living with a drunk and violent husband, Kelly.

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio portrays real-life housewife Ryan (Julianne Moore) as the perfect go-getter without the sappiness that would make the audience revisit lunch all over its shoes.

Adapted by writer/director Jane Anderson (The Baby Dance and HBO's Normal), Prize Winner is based on Ryan's biography, which was written by her daughter, Terry, who lived through the tumultuous yet triumphant times.

As the pages of Terry's memoir are turned on screen, Evelyn's optimism grows stronger in the face of ever-present doom from Kelly (well-played by a chubby Woody Harrelson). The audience is not overwhelmed with grief or sympathy for her; instead, viewers find themselves standing up with her unwavering wit and radiance.

Moore shines as she takes on and conquers the difficult role of Evelyn. Not to be compared to previous films in which Moore portrayed domestic, 1950s housewives (Far From Heaven or The Hours), Prize Winner portrays the extraordinary talents and resourcefulness of a woman deeply devoted to her family, but stuck in the wrong decade and, therefore, confined to the house.

Moore's abilities as a versatile actress come through when she happily presents a new freezer that Kelly attacks due to his inability to fill it with food. Or better, when she stoically stands up from a puddle of blood-splattered spilt milk filled with broken glass, after Kelly throws her to the floor.

This film celebrates the "overworked housewife" and her "under-worked wits" without making Evelyn a saint (just a hero) or Kelly a beast.

Kelly, once a charismatic crooner who romanced Evelyn, is forced to take a job as a machinist when a car accident destroys both his singing voice and dignity. Kelly lets his failure as the breadwinner of the family fester while he buries himself in depression. He often takes his aggression out on the steadfast Evelyn, who acknowledges "he lost his voice while she kept hers."

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