The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio

A family with ten children in fifties Ohio. The father drinks and spends the money; the mother, Evelyn, keeps the house standing by entering product contests. She writes rhyming slogans for brand advertisements and wins refrigerators, cars and cash. The family survives and nobody thanks her. Jane Anderson wrote and directed. Julianne Moore plays Evelyn, Woody Harrelson her husband. The source is the memoir written by Evelyn Ryan's daughter Terry Ryan. The idea is invisible labour: a woman's intelligence turned into a source of income inside housework, and never counted as work. The telling is formally playful: Evelyn sometimes speaks to camera and the advertising aesthetics of the period are used directly. The husband's alcoholism is not softened, though the film does not entirely condemn him either; the era's expectations of manhood are given as context. Moore's performance shows how much constant work it takes to look cheerful. Who it is for: viewers who like period family drama and true stories. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a hard resolution; the film puts patience first.