"Jayne Mansfield's Car" with Billy Bob Thornton, John Hurt and Robert Duvall (2012)

With a cast as diverse as this film; and a script by Billy Bob Thornton; this film is a work of art. If you have read Billy Bob Thornton's auto-biography, then you are aware of what a personal journey making this was for Mr. Thornton.

The film traces the mis-adventures of a family in Alabama circa 1969, as family patriarch Duvall struggles to hold together some semblance of the old order in the midst of great social upheaval. He is not always successful. He is further challenged in his efforts when his son's ex-wife passes away and her body is returned from England, where she has been living since her re-marriage years earlier.

This macabre re-union results in two families who are seemingly worlds; and cultures; apart being forced to deal with one another as well as their own feelings about the deceased and the rest of this dysfunctional family.

Ron White is particularly convincing as the socially inept brother in law, and all of the rest of the cast turn in wonderful character performances which are often at odds with their usual roles. Billy Bob really stretches their limits of creativity with this quirky film that deals with life, love, and the changing definitions of family which have evolved along with the changing social mores of the times.

You'll have to draw your own conclusions; and perhaps watch this one twice to really get the full meaning of what Mr. Thornton attempts to say here. But when you do, it will be worth it, as you will undoubtedly identify with someone, someway, in this film which could only have come form the mind of Billy Bob Thornton. Thanks, Billy, for letting us in.