SOMMERSBY (1993)

CHARACTER Laurel Sommersby, Tennessee plantation owner

IMPERILED? After the Civil War, Laurel's challenges include the return of a man who claims to be her long-lost husband, Jack (Richard Gere), but who may be an impostor; a creepy and resentful rival suitor Orin (Bill Pullman); and a new group of troublemakers called the KKK.

EMPOWERED? The fierce-willed Laurel and the persuasive Jack lift their rural hamlet out of poverty by convincing the townsfolk to start a racially integrated agricultural collective, sort of a proto-kibbutz.

EW MOVIE GRADE: B (Read the EW review)