A young girl and her mother arrive into a small town and set of a sequence of events that change the town forever. Based on a short story by Truman Capote.
Fans of film adaptations of Truman Capote’s original fiction will delight in the familiar terrain of Southern nostalgia and wide-eyed yearning that defines Children on Their Birthdays. Based on a Capote story, this 2002 feature stars Joe Pichler as Billy Bob, a boy whose post-World War II horizons broaden considerably with the arrival of Lilly Jane (Tania Raymonde), a glistening idealist and would-be Hollywood starlet, in his Medda, Alabama, neighborhood. So exotic, erudite, and almost recklessly expansive is Lilly Jane that she lights a fire of progressive thought (or perhaps truer courtesy) in the habitually racist community, inspiring Billy Bob to outgrow his narrow boyhood. Typical of Capote, there is something of the Dying Swan about Lilly Jane, but her Mystery is genuine and affecting. –Tom Keogh
Touching, moving, sweet, elevating…four adjectives I have never used together to describe a single film since I began reviewing movies thirteen years ago. “Children on Their Birthdays,” based on a short story by Truman Capote, is a rare gem that deserves all four. This Capra-esque film portrays common folks in small town, post-war USA who prove themselves capable of uncommon excellence, when challenged by the powerful opposing forces of unconditional love and abject greed. Douglas Sloan’s screenplay skillfully explores all types of interpersonal relationships between adolescents and adults, ranging from sexual, to social, to racial. Under the capable direction of Mark Medoff, the story is executed in a clever and compelling way that makes its point without offending viewers. Faith and values are the key messages that emanate from “Children on Their Birthdays. – Dove
Starring Sheryl Lee, Christopher McDonald, Tom Arnold, Joe Pichler, Tania Raymonde.
Rated PG.
Note: In the review from Dove, above, I think the word romantic would have been a better choice (not sexual), as there is nothing remotely sexual in the film, just tender coming-of-age feelings.