Wayward Son is a 1999 American film drama about justice and redemption in rural Georgia during the Great Depression, starring Harry Connick, Jr. and Pete Postlethwaite.
The movie tells the story of a southern man, Jesse Banks Rhodes (Harry Connick, Jr.), who is released from a prison work camp in Louisiana, 1936, after being wrongly imprisoned for eleven years. He heads back to Georgia, only to find that most people are keen to keep him down. He begins working for a plantation owner (Walton Goggins) and rents a shed from a farmer (Pete Postlethwaite) with two daughters (Patricia Clarkson and Vinessa Shaw). After witnessing the murder of a black worker at the hands of a drunken white racist boss, Jesse is forced to prove his innocence, so injustice will not happen again.
Production of the film began Oct. 26, 1998 in Nashville. [2] The movie was filmed at various locations in Georgia including Mansfield and the Southeastern Railway Museum.
Harry Connick, Jr. as Jesse Banks RhodesPete Postlethwaite as Ben AlexanderPatricia Clarkson as WesleyVinessa Shaw as CordeliaWalton GogginsAfemo Omilami as HoraceDavid Pickens as WardenJohn Bennes as LawyerStacie Richards Dail as young crying womanDavid de VriesMichael Gaston as EdgarRodney L. James as GeorgeLaura Sametz asMrs. BlessingRon Clinton Smith as VernonHaviland Stillwell as LilaJudson Vaughn asstation managerTim Ware asforemanWayward Son has in October, 2006, a number of screenings at the Heartland Film Festival. [3]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. [4]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.Produced by: Cary Brokaw/Avenue Pictures Productions [5], Maccabee Productions, Steve Tisch CompanyInternational rights will be licensed by Arthur Kananack & Associates (AKA Movies) [6]This movie was delisted at $0 on April 29, 2002 since the stock was wrapped, but had no distribution.Letters From A Wayward Son, Wayward Son Productions [7] 1998: Budget $4.5 million [8]An interview where the director Randall Harris discusses the film with Harry Connick Jr., including a few clips from the movie are featured at the Film-Fest: Issue 3 - Toronto DVD. [9]Animal Actors [10] supplied talent on horseback, horses, mules, rattlesnakes, bloodhounds, and German shepherds.Awards and nominations
Crystal Heart Award 1999, to producer Cary Brokaw. At the Heartland Film Festival.