The film revolves around ultra-mean military man who has serious problems showing love and affection to his family, as Bull Meechum (Duvall) is unable to detach his hard-nosed marine pilot persona from his role as husband and father. Meechum pushes his four children to be military tough and precise in everything they do, seeing this as the way for them to succeed in life. His wife Lillian (Danner) offers little help to the children as she has her own problems staying out of harms way from “The Great Santini” as he likes to call himself. Especially when he drinks, he torments his kids mentally and physically to the point where older son Ben (O'Keefe) rebels. South Carolina is the setting for this post WWII drama with lots of ugly bigotry as black neighbors are targeted by racial violence when Ben's friend, the slow but harmless, Toomer (Shaw) is set upon by neighborhood redneck Red (Keith) and his hunting dogs. This adaptation of the Pat Conroy novel of the same name is an outstanding study in family dynamics and southern intolerance.
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The review of this Movie prepared by David Fletcher
