Description

With the integrity and depth of an epic, Shenandoah tells the dramatic story of a man caught in a quandary. James Stewart stars as a Virginia farmer all over the Civil War. He refuses to fortify the Confederacy because he’s opposed to slavery, yet he’s going to not fortify the Union because he’s deeply opposed to war. When his son is taken prisoner, Stewart goes to seek for the boy. Seeing first-hand the horrors of war, he’s at last forced to take his stand.
Shenandoah, a film well-liked in its day, recalls Friendly Persuasion and foreshadows The Patriot as it tells of an American clan traumatized by war on native soil. Virginia farmer James Stewart has never owned slaves, owes allegiance to nobody beyond his own kin, and adamantly disregards the North-South strife rumbling just over the hill: “This war isn’t mine and I take no note of it.” That changes when youngest son Philip Alford (To Kill a Mockingbird‘s Jem) is carried off by Yankees, and the circle of relatives should ride out to reclaim him. Shenandoah has several affecting moments–notably a homefront atrocity–but much of it is lit and played like a television show. Script and direction are formulaic, Stewart falls back on cozy shtick, and the supporting cast is a collection of bland studio contract players. As the closing credit says: “filmed entirely at Universal City.” –Richard T. Jameson
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