Drama
United States of America
A Thousand Acres is a 1997 drama film based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Jane Smiley. The film stars Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jennifer Jason Leigh as the three daughters of a successful Iowa farmer, played by Jason Robards. When the father decides to divide his prosperous farm between his daughters, the rifts between them are exposed and old wounds are reopened.
The eldest daughter, Ginny (Lange), is married to a struggling farmer and resents her father's control over their lives. The middle daughter, Rose (Pfeiffer), is in an unhappy marriage and sees the inheritance as a chance for freedom. The youngest daughter, Caroline (Leigh), is a successful lawyer in New York who has long been estranged from her family.
As the sisters begin to work the land together, conflicts arise over their differing visions for the future of the farm. Tensions are further strained by the arrival of Jess (Colin Firth), an outsider who becomes romantically involved with Ginny and stirs up long-dormant family secrets.
A Thousand Acres explores themes of greed, betrayal, and redemption as the sisters confront the legacy of their father's choices and learn to come to terms with their own identities and desires. The film was directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse and received mixed reviews upon its release, but remains a compelling portrait of a family in crisis.
