Mr. Movie: Part 3 on Donald Sutherland

Herewith the last column on Donald Sutherland films. No, that isn’t all of his good roles, I just picked 15 I liked.

Max Dugan Returns (1983) is a whimsical tale of separation and love. ason Robards has the title role, playing the estranged father of Nora McPhee (Marsha Mason). Nora is a schoolteacher mom just barely getting by. Max shows up on her doorstep, having served a long prison sentence and then disappeared for six more years. He is flush with cash he has stolen from the mob, and proceeds to refurnish Nora’s home and bestow other gifts. She resists for a while but ultimately gives in to his largesse. Sutherland has a fairly minor turn as Brian Costello. Son Kiefer debuts as a school kid. As always, the Neil Simon screenplay delivers mirth and good feelings.
 

Outbreak (1995) is a visionary, fictional prediction of the ebola virus which scared the *^%# out of us in 2014. In this film, the deadly virus is called Motaba and it sounds a lot like ebola. The outbreak spreads by accident and by misadventure and the army is called in. Sutherland plays General McClintock, a totally loathsome character who tries to keep the virus around to use as a chemical weapon. Yikes!
 

A Time To Kill (1996) is a superb courtroom film based on the John Grisham novel. Carl Lee Hailey’s (Samuel L. Jackson) little daughter is abducted and raped by two white men. Realizing the perpetrators will never be punished in Mississippi, Carl Lee guns them down. He is defended by Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey), aided by his elderly mentor Lucien Wilbanks (Sutherland). Jake tries to get Carl Lee to plead to second degree murder to prevent a death sentence, but Carl Lee refuses and the case goes to the all white jury.
 

Pride And Prejudice (2005) has been filmed several times and Jane Austen’s story just gets better. In this one, Sutherland portrays Mr. Bennett, father of five daughters. Their mother schemes and plots to secure “good matches.” Keira Knightley shines as Elizabeth, the main character. Unknown Matthew Mcfadyen is just fine as Mr. Darcy, scorned suitor of Elizabeth, but who won’t give up. There are numerous plot twists before getting to the satisfying finale.

The Hunger Games became quite a franchise in the 2000s. From the original in 2012 through Catching Fire, Mockingjay 1 and 2 and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in 2023, these films were very successful, especially with young people. Sutherland is cast as President Snow, who presides over and directs the games. Every year the 12 districts send a boy and a girl as tribute, and they all fight each other until only one survives. Katniss Everdeen is the signature girl character, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence. The first three entries set box office records. The last one is actually a prequel, and Sutherland appears in it only by archival footage.
 

All of these films are for grown-ups. Netflix has The Hunger Games. For the others, Google the title and click on watch movie.