ReelBob: ‘The Iron Orchard’ ★½
By Bob Bloom
“The Iron Orchard” is a cliched rags-to-riches story produced on what appears to be a shoe-string budget.
This story, set mostly in the oilfields of West Texas, is a story of wildcatters making and losing fortunes. But, as directed by Ty Roberts, the movie lacks the scope and grandeur needed to cover a story that spans nearly 20 years — from 1939 to the late 1950s.
And it does not help that the film’s two stars, Lane Garrison as Jim McNeely and Ali Cobrin as his wife, Lee, lack charisma and turn in wooden performances that nearly sink the project.
The story follows a formulaic path of a young man, filled with ambition, who rises to wealth and power, then — because of his hubris — loses all that he holds dear.
The movie’s major problem is a lack of pacing; it skips from sequence to sequence without any feeling about the time period in which that part of the saga takes place.
Roberts works hard to give the movie an epic aura, but he fails because “The Iron Orchard” never rises any level of high drama or spectacle. It maintains an even keel and simply plods along from one overdone and familiar plotline to another.
The scenery, captured by cinematographer Mathieu Plainfossé, is one of the film’s few positive aspects. He captures the solitude and dust of the region but fails to use it to the advantage of the overall picture.
Garrison offers some nice touches as McNeely, displaying the young man’s grit and determination. His aging makeup is lacking, and his older, drunken self lacks conviction.
Garrison’s dramatic moments lack conviction and true emotion. Even when he is supposed to be angry, sad or remorseful, you cannot feel or connect with his McNeely.
Cobrin, unfortunately, cannot add any spark. Even what should be her lofty emotional sequences come across as someone acting in a high school drama.
“The Iron Orchard” is a story about dreams that, because of greed, lust and stubbornness — are transformed into a nightmare. The movie should rise and fall on the fortunes — or misfortunes — of its protagonists. Yet, Roberts fails to take advantage of any of this. His movie is a flat and dry as his Texas terrain.
It’s also difficult to discern the movie’s main theme. Is it a fond recollection of a bygone era and the rough men who pulled the oil from the ground? Is it a cautionary tale of reaching too high, too fast?
Roberts cannot seem to settle so he throws everything into his cinematic pot to create an overcooked dish that is neither fish nor fowl.
That is too bad, because “The Iron Orchard” could have been a high adventure, a tip of the hard-hat to roughneck pioneers.
Instead, it’s a project that despite how deep for emotion Roberts drills, he comes up empty.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
THE IRON ORCHARD
1½ stars out of 4
(R), language, sexual content, violence