The Stars Fell on Henrietta (1996)

Looking for the perfect movie to rent when Great-Aunt Hermione comes to visit? This is it. Everything about the gently meandering film The Stars Fell on Henrietta belongs to some long-past time: its '30s Texas setting, its shaggy-dog plot about a wildcatter (Duvall) striking black gold on a dirt-poor farm, its arthritic pace, and its reluctance to provide a modern, bang-up payoff. Elderly relatives will find it sweet-tempered; everyone else may see it as a sleeper that forgot to get out of bed. B-