Director Timothy Hutton together with an ensemble of right on performances turns what could be a weepy tale of friendship between a retarded man and an 11 year old girl into a deeply moving story on the power of love the need for human connection. Evan Rachel Wood is without a false note in her portrayal of Harriet, a little girl who searches for escape from her dreary life into an elaborate and eccentric fantasy world. She is looked at as slightly goofy by her classmates, a spirited handful by her alcoholic 'mother', and a major pain in the butt by her promiscuous older 'sister'. It isn't until Ricky, played by Kevin Bacon, and his mother come to stay at the family's motel cabins, on their way to bringing Ricky to an institution, that Harriet finds a real kindred spirit. After Harriet's 'mother' is killed suddenly in an auto accident (she had a tendency to drive on the wrong side of the highway) a crucial family secret is revealed. The friendship between these two outsiders begins to deepen. Despite the obvious obstacles of age and mental condition each provides a connection which the other needs, a relationship which allows Harriet's imagination to flourish and Ricky to feel valued and fully human for the first time. As the two other women in Harriet's family (who all look surprisingly alike enough to be a family), Cathy Moriarty and Mary Stuart Masterson are beautifully understated in their performances. Despite the problems in lives of these women each is characterized with the same indomitable spirit. We see the same spark in each of their personalities, each at a different stage of defeat and resignation. The struggle for them is not to let life's circumstances defeat them. For Harriet and for Ricky there develops a real love and friendship which is unique and wonderful but, as the title suggests, it is a relationship which is both dangerous and inevitably hopeless. First time director Timothy Hutton brings the same intelligence and thoughtfulness to his directing that he brings to his acting. He has created a great looking film and helped create some marvelous and honest performances. The visual scheme of the film effectively captures many its themes of connection, entrapment, secrecy, and fantasy. His camera also tends to sit low, giving us a child's eye view. He sometimes allows the camera to literally participate in the world through Harriet's imagination. By not burdening us with extraneous details concerning the women's relationships with male characters (except for Ricky) the characters to exist in their own emotional space. The music is artfully chosen. Digging to China captures the struggles of coming of age as well as to make our connections to one another richer and stronger. It is a carefully conceived, powerfully acted, and beautifully directed film. It goes beyond the familiar territory with style and grace. Take the kids and transcend the cynical. This is one of the best films I've seen all year.
