Eli Zeal is about to learn that to err is human... and to forgive divine.
2000-01-01
N/A
94 min
Single mother Tyree Battle struggles to keep her young son Thaniel away from the gang-plagued city streets that he is mixed up in. Under severe gang pressure, Thaniel accidentally shoots Jewish shopkeeper Eli Zeal in a botched robbery attempt. Tyree, protecting her son from the law, kidnaps Eli and flees to her hometown of Waterproof.
Aged Burt Reynolds visits a black family in rural Louisiana
A white shop owner from DC (Reynolds) is injured and whisked away by a black cab driver (April Grace) to her family’s modest home in the Deep South where he stays longer than expected.
Shot in October-November, 1997, “Waterproof” was not released until 2000-2001, but it’s a well-done Southern Gothic that respects the intelligence of the viewer. Hours after watching I was able to connect-the-dots and it elicited a ‘Wow’ reaction.
This is easily one of Burt’s best roles, but you have to be in the mood for a drama. I don’t want to say much more because it’s best for you to discover for yourself, but the movie’s warm, sobering and revelational. Moreover, it contains one of the best church sequences in cinematic history.
If you liked Robert Duvall’s "The Apostle" (1997), you’ll appreciate this.
The film runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Tensas Parish in northeast Louisiana with other stuff done in Wilmington, North Carolina.
GRADE: A-/B+
