Wayward Son

Wayward Son (1999)

Former fashion photographer Randall Harris debuts with this gritty drama about justice and redemption in rural Georgia during the Great Depression. Jesse Banks Rhodes (Harry Connick, Jr.) is suddenly and inexplicably released from jail after serving part of a life sentence on a trumped up charge for murder. He heads back for Georgia to reclaim his life and finds himself staying with farmer Ben Alexander (Pete Postlethwaite). Initially, Ben's family is mistrustful of the ex-con, but slowly they begin to warm to him, particularly Ben's fragile daughter Wesley (Patricia Clarkson). After witnessing the murder of a black worker at the hands of his drunken white racist boss, Jesse vows to make things right.

Date of release
1999-09-20
TMDB
4.4 / 10 (5)
Runtime
1h 36m
Genres
Drama
Director
Randall Harris

Casting

Interesting facts

Wayward Son is a 1999 American drama film directed by Randall Harris and starring Harry Connick, Jr. and Pete Postlethwaite. The screenplay concerns justice and redemption in rural Georgia during the Great Depression.

Trivia

Wayward Son has in October, 2006, a number of screenings at the Heartland Film Festival.

As research for his role as Jesse Banks Rhodes, Connick spent two days in solitary at the Louisiana State Penitentiary Angola, even wearing leg irons and handcuffs during his stay.

Wayward Son was first called Letters From a Wayward Son.

Patricia Clarkson and Vinessa Shaw's roles as Wesley and Cordelia, had reportedly been designated for Embeth Davidtz and Tara Reid.

Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 1999.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

Recommended