I certainly agree that Paul's Case is a poignant account of thwarted aspirations in late Gilded Age America, but it should also be noted the Paul is one of the earliest homosexual protagonists in this country's literature. Cather's wonderful story ( well worth seeking out) makes Paul's sexuality a tad more overt, though I'm sure many of the story's original readers, even the more sophisticated, were oblivious. We today could profit, I think, from Cather's hallmark subtlety and elegance; and this short film worthily suggests it.

Is anyone going to read this review of an archaic VHS tape based on an old Willa Cather story? Really? Well, if you've read the story, you will of course be disappointed in this, but it's not bad at all, and, if you are a teacher, your kids will be interested.

I love being able to show my students films of stories we have read.

A tragic story by Willa Cather made into an impressive short film. A young Eric Roberts turns in an impressive performance as the young Paul, who longs for the sophistication of New York society and the artistic scene there. He briefly attains this but pays a high price. Acting and directing are of high quality but unfortunately the film itself is appears to have been shot at low resolution.

Acting was really good, story was a bit depressing, ending was open for possibilities.

Too depressing

A good but dated film of an excellent short story.

The movie makes no sense until you realize that Paul has serious emotional problems. The end was predictable and quite depressing. But the worst part was the introduction to the movie by Henry Fonda, in which he describes Paul's Christian father as one of those "narrow-minded people" and then goes on to blame him for Paul's unhappiness. (The story line does not blame Paul's father. In contrast, it clearly shows Paul's unwarranted disdain for a father who merely wants him to be responsible.) Henry Fonda's contempt of the Christian faith is very apparent.