Barbara Stanwyck is the only reason to watch So Big!

Is it worth your time?

If you like old-school weepies where people just stand around talking about duty and cabbage, you might find something here. If you’re allergic to slow pacing or movies that feel like they were filmed inside a dusty library, stay away. This is really for the folks who want to see a masterclass in acting from Barbara Stanwyck, even when the script is doing her exactly zero favors.

Barbara Stanwyck is just incredible here. It’s wild watching her transform from a young, hopeful teacher into this hardened, weathered woman. You can see the exhaustion in her eyes by the third act, and it feels real, not just like someone put a bit of flour in her hair to make her look old.

The middle part of the movie? Man, it is a slog. There’s a lot of focus on the farming life and the "nobility of hard work," which sounds great on paper but gets pretty repetitive when you're just watching people walk through fields for what feels like an eternity. It reminded me a little of the pacing issues in The Primitive Lover, where the story just kind of halts while the characters figure out how to be people.

There's a scene near the end where she looks at her son, Dirk, and you can just tell she's realizing he's turned into a bit of a bore. She doesn't say it out loud, obviously, but the look is devastating. It’s these tiny, quiet moments that keep the movie from falling apart completely.

Also, the makeup work on the older characters is a bit hit-or-miss. Sometimes it looks fine, and other times it looks like they used a sharpie to draw wrinkles on their foreheads. It’s distracting, but whatever, that’s 1932 for you.

Honestly, the whole "cabbage farm" plot point is weirdly charming once you stop questioning why a movie would spend this much time on it. It’s not exactly Stout Hearts and Willing Hands in terms of energy, but it has its own weird, slow rhythm.

• Stanwyck’s voice is so sharp you could cut glass with it.
• The rural sets look like they’re made of cardboard.
• Why does everyone keep talking about "the big"? It’s a bit much.
• The ending is... well, it’s an ending.

It’s not a masterpiece, and it’s definitely not for everyone. But watch it for Stanwyck. Just ignore the stuff about the crops if you get bored. I did. 🥬