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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

Kansas. 1960. Like a drop of paint hitting a blank canvas, a drop of rain hitting dry prairie earth inspires a young farm boy named Stan Herd to create his first masterpiece. Flash forward 26 years later to the Lawrence area where adult Stan (John Hawkes) is getting his latest earthwork captured on film by a renowned aerial photographer who promises him that one day he will make it big.

Stan finally gets his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in 1994, but not on the Great Plains. Instead, Stan travels to Manhattan’s Upper West Side where he secures an abandoned lot owned by Donald Trump. Wide-eyed and big-hearted, Stan eagerly promises to fund the entire project himself, which can only be done if he mortgages everything behind his wife’s back.

On top of his financial strains, Stan only has a few months to spare before Trump builds a skyscraper on the site. Unable to do it alone, he recruits homeless people, who live in a nearby underground railway tunnel, to move tons of soil, rock, timbers, and plants to create a temporary urban masterpiece he desperately hopes will put him on the map.

After getting his own name on the map thanks to an Academy Award-nominated performance as Uncle Teardrop in Winter’s Bone, Hawkes continues to be a diamond in the rough in Earthwork. Under the direction of KU alum Chris Ordal, Hawkes infuses Stan a generosity of spirit and Midwestern charm to make him a likable character. He also presents him with a passion so desperate that it threatens to destroy his personal life.

The relative inexperience of Ordal, who also wrote the script, rears its head in the underdeveloped relationship between Stan and his family. There is too much disconnect in that part of the story. The homeless characters are interesting, but there’s also not enough there for us to sink our teeth into. Still, Earthwork did win Best Feature Film at the Kansas International Film Festival and it sheds light onto a unique area artist. I recommend you stick around through the credits so you can see the real Stan Herd’s impressive display of past earthworks.

On a letter grade scale from “A” being excellent to “F” for failing, Earthwork receives a B.

Earthwork is unrated and has a running time of 93 minutes.

Now showing through May 19 @
Tivoli Cinemas
Westport Manor Square
4050 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO
Visit www.tivolikc.com or call 913-383-7756 for more information.

and

Glenwood Arts
9575 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, KS
Visit www.fineartsgroup.com or call 913-642-4404 for more information.

By Michael D. Smith

Indie Film Editor

Michael D. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri followed by a Master of Arts in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Inspired by such critics as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing films in 1992 for College of the Ozarks's student-run newspaper. After returning to the Kansas City area in 1994, he continued film reviewing by writing for the Cass County Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville.

In 2000 Michael joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as its film critic and Arts and Entertainment Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the "Fine Arts Radio Hour" and "Celebrity Scoop" radio shows on KXTR. After leaving the Sun in late 2002, he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, Kansas. He also worked as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, Missouri and the Kansas City Star.

Michael is currently a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.