The Whole Wide World

After retiring from teaching, lifelong aspiring writer Novalyne Price wrote her first book at age 76, "One Who Walked Alone," a memoir dedicated to the memory of pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard, and upon which this film, "The Whole Wide World," directed by Dan Ireland, is based. The film paints a soul wrenching portrait of a man who was larger than life in the world of his own creation, but who was a socially inept, self-proclaimed "lummox" in the real world, who had an unhealthy devotion to his sickly mother and had trouble expressing his true feelings to the woman he obviously... more

This film should be used as example of independent filmmaking at its finest. Made on a shoestring budget with then unknown actors, director Dan Ireland creates a film that is by turns sweeping, intimate, funny and tragic. He takes the viewers into 1930s smalltown Texas and makes you feel like you are there -- you can see how he trusts his actors to portray their characters, and they in turn don't disappoint Vincent D'Onofrio and Renee Zellweger both give unique and memorable performances in this haunting love story. One never feels that they are "acting", even for a minute. One senses the... more

Never has a film made such an impact on my life as did the Whole Wide World. The film's message to me was that one should not waste their natural artistic abilities. After watching an insecure character like Robert E. Howard shrivel under the pressure of his life, I realized that a true mark of success is the ability to overcome the pressures and obligations that stand in the way. The creative talent responsible for the film is something that should not be overlooked. The breathtaking film is adapted from the Price-Ellis memoir The One Who Walked Alone. Price-Ellis wanted nothing more... more