I first watched this in the early 90's several times. I was profoundly impressed and affected by the writing and acting in several scenes with Diane Ladd. I wont give it away, but what she said and how she said it to Robert Duvall (her husband) and the Dr. was profound feminism and humanism. And his loyalty and devotion to his wife makes him do the right thing. Should be shown in classes about sexism and projection. Otherwise, generally a good film and fresh. Glad to see it available to buy on Itunes. A must see for the reasons I bring up. I am not sure what I said is a spoiler, so just in case, I said so to be safe.

Rambling Rose certainly has its individual moments. Rose unintentionally corrupting the two Hillyer men. Dern and Duvall's stellar performances. The point it makes about men controlling women. Unfortunately, Rose is an incredibly vexing character, and not is the way the movie intends. Are we supposed to be sad for her? Love her? The movie seems to want that, but I don't. Ultimately, it's a boring, sappy and pointless period drama.

In this limp Southern period piece a wholesome young belle with the innocence of an angel and the manners of a whore supposedly disrupts the progressive Georgia household of Robert Duvall and Diane Ladd. The qualifier is necessary, because the film collapses into pure schmaltz almost before the end of the opening credits. The clumsy voice-over introduction by John Heard and the flashback (almost on cue) to his halcyon youth give fair warning to what kind of film this will be: safe, calculated, all-too polite, and adapted for the screen by a novelist obviously attached to his own words. The casting is attractive, but no one is given much of a character to work with. The title role gives Laura Dern a vehicle for some overripe histrionics, but despite her promiscuity Rose is simply one saint in a family of saints, and every conflict quickly disappears to allow them all a chance to live happily ever after (Rose is even spared the consequences of her constant, physical 'search for affection' by a convenient inability to bear children). In the end it might just be the perfect diversion for people who thought 'Driving Miss Daisy' too controversial and inflammatory.

Screenwriter Calder Willingham adapted his own book about a wayward young woman in 1930s Georgia who comes to stay with a rural family, quickly setting her lustful sights on the family patriarch. Director Martha Coolidge isn't especially graceful here, moving the film along in fits and starts, and when it becomes apparent that there isn't much to the story beyond the central situation, it just becomes a chore. The writing is decidedly bland, opening with a woeful prologue, and one never gets a sense of character development or transition. Real-life mother and daughter Diane Ladd and Laura Dern each earned Oscar nominations for their work (an Academy first), but young Lukas Haas (standing in, perhaps, for Willingham) gives the most interesting performance as the teenager with a crush on his family's flirtatious houseguest. ** from ****