Mi amigo Ricky

I was never a Kevin Bacon fan until I saw "Digging to China." His portrayal of a retarded individual was wonderful and Evelyn Rachael Wood establishes herself as a marvelous actress. This movie did not get the raves that it deserves. I would suggest that anyone who has not seen this should get a copy right away.

Awesome movie, people. Not the best, but awesome. I saw this movie a while ago so I'll have to rely on what I remember. This movie had a wonderful story. It was very moving, for me, in the way that it showed great character depth. In other words, it showed people as they are, and gave you another perspective on how people see the world and the people who live on it. It showed why people act they way they do, and what you can do to help people. I don't see how anyone, after watching a movie like this one, could not be moved, possibly enough to reach out to someone and help them.

This is a poignant film that few moviegoers are familiar with. It is redolent of such recent works as Manny & Lo (featuring Scarlett Johanssen, the girl from Horse Whisperer) and Lawn Dogs (a decidedly darker vehicle, starring Sam Rockwell). Don't pass this one by, if you have a heart.

I turned this movie on about halfway through, so I've yet to see the entire thing, but I was crying within minutes. I have NEVER liked Kevin Bacon, for no real reason other than he was in "Wild Things" which I thought was absolutely horrible. His performance as Ricky had me crying in just a few minutes, at the friendship Ricky and Harriet shared that no one else could touch. The end upset me greatly as I always hope for happy endings and would've loved to see Harriet grown up and revisiting her old friendship, or something along those lines... but I'm a sap that always wants a happy ending. ;) In any case, this one movie has completely changed my opinion and made me respect Kevin Bacon utterly for not only taking such a challenging role, but moving me to tears in it. Evan Rachel Wood was awesome as well, and I had no idea she'd been "around" for this long! A wonderful movie, even though the ending left me feeling a bit ripped off.

Timothy Hutton and the cast of "Digging to China" deserve an "A" for effort and for having their hearts in the right place. Despite some awkward writing and a not entirely successful performance by Kevin Bacon, this film mostly succeeds by making you feel the deep need the characters have to connect with one another. Some scenes feel contrived, but the performances overcome this for the most part. Bacon is OK once you get used to him, but his performance feels a bit studied and overly mannered -- it doesn't flow as naturally as Leonardo DiCaprio's similar performance in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?"

This movie shares some plotting and themes with "Lawn Dogs" -- in both films an older man befriends a lonely and odd young girl; people misunderstand and violence results -- which to me was a better movie. But "Digging to China" certainly deserves more attention than its gotten. The performance of Evan Rachel Wood as Harriet is one of the most amazing performances by a young actor I've seen in ages.