Honeydripper

Harmony, Alabama, 1950: hard times have hit the Honeydripper saloon. Proprietor Tyrone Purvis (Danny Glover) is staking his bets on one Guitar Sam, who Ty – hoping to win back the young crowd lost to the jukebox over at the Ace of Spades – has booked to replace his elderly blues chanteuse on Saturday night, when Sam’s set to pass through town. But first Tyrone needs money for beer, electricity… and the guitar man.

Like all Sayles’ films, this bluesy ensemble piece is firmly grounded in time and place; his exploration of the textures of everyday life in the postwar Deep South – not just the politics of race, but religion, sexuality, work, the law, commerce and culture, most especially music – is illuminating in its detail, and authentic in dialogue and characterisation. There’s a host of lovely performances from a superb cast – including Charles S Dutton, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Lisa Gay Hamilton and Mary Steenburgen – immaculately lit camerawork from Dick Pope, and a stirring tribute to the power of music. Oh, and Glover is great.