Spin (2003) User Reviews

Flying colors

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 3 November 2005]

"Spin" came as a total surprise. We had not heard about the movie before, so when it was shown on cable recently, we decided to watch it, something that paid off because it is basically an unpretentious look at a not too distant past. James Redford, is making his debut as a director showing he has an eye for detail.

The story centers around Eddie. When we meet him, he is a young boy who has to deal with the premature death of his parents in a small plane crash. As a result, his only living relative is a distant uncle, a major in the Air Force, who practically abandons him to the caretaker couple that works for him in the Arizona ranch. Eddie's uncle, as well as his father, have a passion for flying that is transferred to the young man. A few years go by and next we see a teen aged Eddie who is not doing well in school. His friendship with the lovely Francesca develops into love, but fate intervenes in their lives.

The film has a lovely finished look thanks to the cinematography of Paul Ryan who captured the rugged Arizona landscape in all its glory. The musical score is by Todd Boekelheide, which serves the film well. The performances are credible as Ryan Merriman makes us care for his Eddie. Stanley Tucci, Dana Delany, Ruben Blades and Paula Garces are the other performers.

James Redford does a good job with his first directorial assignment.

Solid, well done movie

[Mccadoo · 7/10 · 23 May 2008]

I was in a local video store that was closing down and selling off their stock, a trend these days it seems due to the emergence of Netflix and the like, and noticed this film. It caught my attention because I'm a pilot so I bought it ($2).

It wasn't at all what I'd expected but I was pleasantly surprised none the less. The cinematography and acting are exceptional. The story is a little slow but holds your interest and you become invested in the characters as the movie moves along. They seemed real to me. That alone is saying a lot considering some of what is foisted upon the viewing public these days.

While I would classify this as a family movie it does contain some dark material dealing with sexual abuse so I would not say it was for young children. Still and all, it was a pleasant viewing experience and I found it head and shoulders above a lot of what is produced in Hollywood these days.

I would recommend Spin for anyone looking for a well done, mostly pleasant viewing experience.

Growing Up Is Very Hard To Do

[gradyharp · 8/10 · 28 August 2005]

SPIN takes a road much traveled - the coming of age tale of a child whose parents are suddenly absent - but the result is much stronger a story than most in this genre. Based on the novel by Donald Everett Axinn and adapted for the screen by writer/director James Redford (yes, son of Robert Redford, but strong enough a talent not to need to depend on shadows!), SPIN is an evocative moment in history (the 1950s) when the world was more quiet and young people would work their ways through the maze of adolescence without clouds of outside threats. This, then, becomes more poignant and sensitive a study of one lad's growing up to become an adult facing mirrors of those faces from the past and the present.

Eddie Haley (Max Madore) is very young when his parents die in a plane crash and is placed in the care of his parent's workers Margaret and Ernesto Bejarano (Dana Delaney and Rubén Blades) at the decision of his pilot uncle Major Haley (Stanley Tucci) - a man whose own demons have left him seemingly invulnerable to intimacy and family, electing to move away from the Haley ranch and its responsibilities rather than raising Eddie. Eddie's companion as a child is Francesca (Marissa Baca) who, while not an orphan, is motherless and living with a cruel father. They bond and in addition to the very supportive Bejaranos provide Eddie with as much footing as he is able to manage.

Move forward to Eddie as a teenager (Ryan Merriman) and he has become a mild punk, floundering around seeking meaning to life and afraid of relationships - fearing he will be ultimately deserted. Francesca (Paula Garcés) moves back into town from Mexico and gradually the two become close and involved: Eddie's demons and issues riddle him while Francesca's equally brittle demons seem to make her stronger. Major Haley returns, is at first greatly resented by Eddie until the Major teaches Eddie to fly a plane left to him by his departed father. The relationship that develops between the two is as strong as it is difficult. A tragedy involving Francesca and her father occurs resulting finally in Eddie's ability to feel mature emotions and follows his courage and his heart to change his and Francesca's lives.

Redford keeps this potentially saccharine story in tight reins, never allowing bathos but always sharing a view that each of us is human and capable of errors, but equally capable of recovering and resolving consequences. The cast is uniformly strong with Tucci giving one of his finest and most subtle performances to date. Merriman is young and shows great promise: Blades and Delany are seasoned veterans and bring a realistic rapport that adds to the credibility of a story also dealing with ethnic prejudice. The cinematography by Paul Ryan is excellent - some of the best aerial photography outside of the usual war scenes on film. Recommended, not because it is a great movie, but because it is an honest one and the first example of James Redford's seemingly generous talent. Grady Harp

'Coming-Of-Age' Film Deserves More Recognition

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 3 April 2007]

This is one coming-of-age film I really liked and respected. Most of them are not "my cup of tea." However, this one features nothing but likable characters, including the teens. Yeah, they're not perfect; they have a few "moments," but mostly Ryan Merriman ("Eddie") and Paula Garces ("Francesca") are good kids.

The adults are even better, just wonderful people. Dana Dalaney ("Margaret") and Reuben Blades ("Ernesto") play a couple who adopts young "Eddie" who loses his parents in a small- plane accident. Stanley Tucci ("Frank") has a key role as a mentor of the boy, a guy who leaves Eddie when he's young but comes back and teaches the now-17-year-old how to fly.

Language-wise, there as almost zero profanity for the first hour, but there were cases of it in the last third of the movie. The photography is nice in here, too, especially for a film, I suspect, was low budgeted.

This little-known film should be better-known. It's a nice story. I really can't imagine anyone watching this film and not enjoying and respecting it.

Quality Film

[conejerome · 8/10 · 1 June 2005]

This film left me feeling good; however, I admit that the story struck a chord with me in more than one area that other viewers may not experience. Being a pilot, I thoroughly enjoyed the aspect of the story that pertains to flying. Furthermore, Eddie is a character with whom I connected. The photography, particularly the sunsets and aerial shots, are beautifully captured. In all fairness, the story had a dry spot or two, but when I think of crappy films, this film is NOT one of them.

The acting was well done, too. Stanley Tucci portrayed a retired Air Force Major and was quite believable as Eddie's strong, collected Uncle. Ryan Merriman, whom I've not seen elsewhere, also gave a sound performance.

I give the movie an overall Bravo!

Slow, enveloping and completely UNsappy

[isisherbs2000 · 9/10 · 12 July 2006]

As other commenters here have noted, Spin is a quiet gem with wonderful performances, breathtaking cinematography and a simple, familiar storyline that never descends into triteness.

I think this flick falls into the 'life goes on' category - where Lasse Hallestrom leads the pack. It has true sensitivity without a single false note. I was ready to be disappointed by the scene in which Francesca reveals the nature of her tragedy, but the dialog was perfect - the only thing said was what was needed to be said, and the movie moved on to explore the same themes it had set up in the first 2 acts.

In fact, the dialog and direction seem to be what gives Spin its depth - the cast is able to express deep and sometimes-brutal emotions through their interactions rather than through words and gestures. There was simply no artifice to this movie - not in the acting, not in the dialog, not in the images.

I do have to disagree with the commenter who felt there were dry spells in the action - I fell into the movie almost from the first scene and felt carried slowly and comfortably along the entire time. They were (mostly) a nice bunch of people to spend a few hours with.

I suggest Spin for anyone who would like to be wrapped in the feeling that although the world can be harsh, it doesn't necessarily have to be devastating.

Worthwhile coming of age movie with a dark theme.

[TxMike · 29 January 2006]

Ryan Merriman was young Eddie Haley, whose parents die in a small plane crash as the movie begins. Stanley Tucci is Major Haley, a pilot and Eddie's uncle who travels most of the time. Dana Delany is Margaret, pretty Paula Garcés is Francesca who eventually becomes Eddie's girlfriend in high school. Rubén Blades is Ernesto the ranch hand who effectively becomes Eddie's father after Major Haley leaves.

Dad leaves Eddie a note, written in blood on a handkerchief as he is about to die after his crash, "Don't let this stop you." Eddie grows up bitter, is a class clown, gets into trouble here and there, wasting his potential. He even spurns the gift of love and friendship that Francesca offers. But when Major Haley returns, and offers to teach Eddie to fly, Eddie becomes an eager pilot, using a makeshift airstrip on their Arizona ranch.

Eddie eventually comes around, the theme of the movie is "family", it is what you make of it with the people around you.

SPOILERS, FOR MY RECOLLECTION, PLEASE READ NO FURTHER. Francesca's father has become a drunkard after her mother died, doesn't treat Francesca very well, even thought she is a model student and works after school at a local burger joint. One night while her friends are all at the school dance, her dad makes advances, beats her up and, we deduct from later comments, rapes Francesca. She leaves and he kills himself with a gun. Francesca gets out of town, gets drunk, gets sick with high fever, Eddie takes the plane to go to her, finds her, brings her back by plane for a hospital, magneto acts up, spare is bad too, crash lands safely, Major Haley comes to him in jeep, gets Francesca to safety, profess love for each other, as Eddie plans to head for Air Force Academy and Francesca for college in Mexico.

Good quality beautiful drama, but the story is inconsistent

[Anrachman · 8/10 · 18 June 2017]

I bought the DVD many years ago, but I just watched it today, and this is my thought about this movie.

This movie is a good quality beautiful drama that will gives you a good and nostalgic feeling. The shots are so cinematic, this movie makes you like you're reading a novel (as the matter of fact this movie is based on novel). And the background music is so beautiful, really fits with the story. And the other plus point is the actors are so good looking on those 50s style that make the scene more enjoyable to watch.

The acting quality of the actors are so amazing, no need to ask about the main actor Ryan Merriman because his acting performances are always amazing (but I don't know how his performance in his newer movies since the last time I saw him when he's in Final Destinantion 3 (2006)).

Actually I wanted to give this movie 10 stars, but I decided to give it 8 stars because it has a lack for the story. The direction of the story (the theme, the genre) is inconsistent.

At the first half, the premise of the story is like about an orphan boy named Eddie (Ryan Merriman) who try to follow his father step to become a pilot. It will makes you think Eddie will train so hard to fly the plane while he also has to face the problem with his uncle (Stanley Tucci), his care taker family Margaret (Dana Delany) and her husband Ernesto (Ruben Blades), and the support from her pretty friend Francesca (Paula Garces), but no, it turned out it's not about that.

The last half the story change direction to about Eddie love story with Francesca, how they care each other, and then Francesca is raped by her father, the depression of Francesca, then her father committed suicide. Eddie seems forgetting his plane training and his head is full of Francesca. The story change direction from what they gave at the beginning. I mean yeah, love life of the main character will give a good flavor for the story, but not by changing the story line and the theme from family drama genre to romance genre. This made me disappointed. Just stick to one story premise.

But other than that, like I said at the beginning, this movie is a good quality beautiful drama that really really worth to watch, I really suggest you to watch this movie.

An Extra on SPIN

[MTucsonAZ · 8/10 · 8 June 2007]

It really IS too bad that this film didn't get more publicity. I was an extra for this film (the funeral scene) and I must say how very professional and delightful the entire cast and crew were. I've been on many sets, and this one by far was the best! The days were LONG and COLD (filmed in Winter) but we got through it.

I enjoyed watching the finished product and I'm sad that more people don't know about this film. Working with James "Jamie" Redford was awesome, and the day I was on set was Dana Delaney's birthday. We sang "Happy Birthday" and got cake...WOO HOO! Yeah, it's been a few years, but it's it never too late to see a touching coming-of-age movie. TELL YOUR FRIENDS! :-)

Good family film, though disturbing toward end

[vchimpanzee · 17 April 2007]

In the 1950s near the Mexican border, Eddie Haley's parents die in a plane crash. Eddie's Uncle Frank takes care of him for a while, but his career with the Air Force requires a lot of travel and he can't take Eddie along. So Eddie is left in the care of Ernesto and Margaret, who run the Haley family ranch.

Eddie meets Francesca at the park and they become friends. Francesca's father is mean, and she claims her mother and grandparents don't want anything to do with Francesca and her father.

Several years later, Eddie is 17 and sitting in his father's airplane, which is his now. He has no plans to become a pilot, and he doesn't seem to have much of a plan for his life, period. Margaret gets a job teaching at the high school in town, so Eddie goes to school there and makes the football team.

Eddie meets Francesca once again. She is very nice and quite pretty, but she has a dark secret. Not only that, but she is poor and Mexican, so she is treated differently by some people. Brad, whose father owns a mine where Eddie's parents died, is Eddie's friend. He knows about the plane crash but not the fact that Eddie's parents were in the plane. Eddie and Brad both want to date Francesca, but only one can, so the other gets Julie.

Uncle Frank returns and teaches Eddie how to fly, though Eddie has never gotten over how he was rejected years ago.

This starts out as a pleasant enough family film. Toward the end, though, some disturbing themes are introduced. There is nothing explicit except for one scene where there is blood, but no obvious clue as to where it came from unless one is really paying attention (what I mean is that a child wouldn't have to know it was blood). There are bruises, so we know one character was the victim of violence. And there is the suggestion of a despicable deed no child should know about.

But the good news is that Eddie shows character and determination as a result of what happens. And an element of excitement is added as well. The film does inspire because of what Eddie has to do. I actually assumed this might have been a real person (otherwise, why did the film have to take such a dark turn?) until I saw the closing credits, which said this movie was fiction.

Most of the actors give good performances, but Stanley Tucci stands out as a loving but firm uncle.

A 21st century variation on a theme by John Ford

[ianlouisiana · 8/10 · 10 March 2015]

Air Force Major Frank Haley(Mr S.Tucci)is a typical John Ford hero.Detached and somewhat remote,taciturn,more used to giving orders than taking them and completely comfortable in his own skin.You'd better listen when he speaks because he isn't going to say anything twice. When his brother and sister - in - law are killed in a plane crash("Stormin' Stan Haley" - a very evocative name),the Major acknowledges his responsibilities and takes their 10 year old son into his care. However,he has his duty to perform and flies off to Guam leaving the kid at the family ranch looked after by the Mexican top hand and his Anglo wife((Mr R.Blades and Ms D. Delany). When he returns,the boy has become a somewhat difficult teenager although much - loved and very fond of his foster parents. It is time for the Major to step up to the plate and help the boy become a man.

I watched "Spin" on Freeview the other afternoon perfectly prepared for it to be the usual soporific,superficial,glossy and instantly forgettable stuff that is the staple of a channel where the ads are for ambulance chasers and loan sharks, but I was surprised that in fact it was quite harsh and it took me somewhere I hadn't expected to go just when it was looking at it's most routine. Set in 1950's Arizona,it is to all intents and purposes a Western although their is not a horse in sight. Instead we have photogenic old aeroplanes slipping through the endless sky and stunning light,almost like a perpetual gloaming. There is Fordian darkness before the dawn,but the boy grows tall and true, a credit to his father,and is accepted by the Air Force Academy (I nearly wrote "West Point")much to the Major's delight. Mr Tucci is excellent as the Ethan Edwards/Tom Doniphon type. If Andrew McClaglen took the reins from John Ford,then Mr Redford has seamlessly carried on where he left off. "Spin" is a fine film and deserves to be better known.