It’s not uncommon to feel that the pace of modern life is just too fast. Everything has got busier, more frantic, and technology has engulfed our very existence. Weren’t things better back in the day? Hell, even Socrates went on a whole “kids today” rant. This is the general sentiment of Anders Lindwall‘s Green and Gold, the story of an old-school farmer struggling to retain his legacy in the face of commercial cynicism. More than that, it’s my sentiment towards the movie. It feels straight out of the mid- 2000s, from a time that still valued the truest human forms of storytelling. There is something so wonderfully pure about Green and Gold, and the way it approaches its characters and themes, that makes me long for a time when movies weren’t so cynical, self-aware, and snarky.

This is the first real large-scale movie by Lindwall, whose sporadic filmography up to this point has consisted mostly of short films, and if this project doesn’t scream talented up-and-comer, I don’t know what does. From the opening frames, he shows such immense depth and understanding of the art of cinema, intricately weaving themes of respect for nature, community, love, and grief into the very fabric of the movie. It’s a triumphant piece of work that never overplays itself, and remains committed to telling a story with which the audience can identify and dare to hope.

What is ‘Green and Gold’ About?

Craig T. Nelson is Buck, a grizzled old farmer in Wisconsin who does things the old-fashioned way. He milks his cows by hand, plows the land manually, and refuses to invest in technology that would supposedly make his job easier and more productive. His family has owned the farm for generations, and instilled him with a keen sense of respect for the land, the animals, of life in general. So when a smarmy bank manager slaps him with a foreclosure notice due to the farm’s dwindling profits, he turns his nose up at the idea of bringing the family business up to a more modern pace. All the guy wants is to tend to his farm, find ways to sneak out of church before the service finishes, and watch his beloved Green Bay Packers play football.

Meanwhile, his granddaughter Jenny (Madison Lawlor) is an aspiring singer-songwriter reminiscent of Schuyler Fisk, who spends her time writing music in the barn when she is not busy laboring on the farm. She plays small bar gigs for extra money, and hopes that she is being noticed by the right people who will give her her big break. She loves her Gramps, but the two butt heads over the direction her life is going in. When the bank manager flippantly offers Buck a bet that could save the farm, she encourages him to take it. If the Green Bay Packers make it to the Championships, he’ll give the family a grace period to make up their arrears. You can see where this sort of plot could end up taking a cheesy, artificially feel-good direction, but Lindwall is too nuanced and artful a director to allow it to end up in rom-com territory.

Nature is the Core of ‘Green and Gold’

Although on the surface, the main conflict of the movie is between small businesses and big bad bankers, at its core, it is a battle between nature and modernism. From the very beginning, the movie is engrossed in wide, sweeping shots of the landscape, the animals bounding through the fields, the sun, the sea, and the grass, and they are all bathed in an ethereal golden light that gives an Elysian quality. The movie frames nature as the ultimate power, one that existed before man and his machines, and will hopefully long outlive them. There is a prominent use of natural light that allows the splendor of nature to speak for itself, and communicate its wonders to the audience. You can’t help but feel totally at peace as you watch it.

But it’s not a propaganda piece that batters you with its message of protecting and respecting the natural world. Buck and Jenny make the odd comment about why it is important to do things the old-fashioned way and how integral it is to the spirit of a farmer, but it is really the visual language of the film that tells us this. Cinematographer Russ Fraser has almost exclusively worked on music videos up to this point, and Green and Gold is the fanciest feather his cap could possibly hope for. He elevates the story and performances to a level that is so touching and so exquisite that the movie is bursting at the seams with a humble beauty. Between Fraser’s loving camerawork and Lindwall’s heartfelt direction, Green and Gold transcends the realm of 2020’s drama.

‘Green and Gold’ Has Community at Its Heart

The secondary power to nature is communities in Green and Gold, and it takes on several different forms. There is the farming community, who are all struggling to make a living in these modern times, and they have each other’s backs completely. When Buck approaches a fellow farmer to sell a tractor to make some money, his friend is clearly distraught at not being able to offer what it is worth; later, the family is called to the aid of another farmer who has become so desperate that he is holding a shotgun to his chin. Jenny reminds the farmer of a song he taught her years before that she should sing when times get tough, and she tearfully sings it to him, prompting him to put down the gun and take comfort in the embrace of his friends. The end of the movie goes in an It’s A Wonderful Life direction, with the entire community coming together to make what difference they can, and rather than feeling saccharine, it hits all the right emotional beats and feels like a justified conclusion.

Then there is the football community, the other place where Buck finds love and meaning. The Packers fans take genuine joy in watching a game unfold, and there is never a sense of rivalry with the opposing team or its supporters. Football is there to entertain, to give fans something to root for and get invested in. As the playoffs go on, and the Packers inch their way closer to the Championship, there is a sense of pride and hope, not only because Buck’s bet may end up paying off, but because this silly little game is bringing people together to have fun, and it means a lot to them. Between farmers, football fans, and family, the theme of community is consistent throughout Green and Gold, and is handled so delicately that it almost restores the viewer’s faith in humanity.

‘Green and Gold’ is Full of Atmosphere

Although Green and Gold more explicitly refers to the team colors of the Green Bay Packers, the title reflects the visual palette of the movie. This beautiful green land, which Buck will happily tend til the day he dies, is always awash in natural gold light, and the two complement each other so perfectly. It’s the sort of beauty that tourism and travel commercials often try to encapsulate. When paired with a delicate folk soundtrack, a world of natural wonder, serenity, and peace is conjured. Whether in bars, churches, sheds, or fields, the movie accomplishes a real sense of an all-encompassing atmosphere, as if real life has been polished to perfection. This is no mean feat, given the movie has plenty of moments of hopelessness, grief, betrayal and heartache. It never goes too far in its pursuit of beauty, but finds just the right level at which viewers can stop, stare, and wonder how they’d never noticed it before. It’s not just a field, or a cow, or a harbor — it’s one of life’s understated little gifts that are there to be savored.

Look, I’m not someone who loves an overly sentimental movie. I don’t like sappy stuff that seems purpose-built to play with my emotions. But what I do love is sincerity, and my God, Green and Gold has sincerity by the bucketload. It’s not interested in headlines that read “The Feel-Good Hit of the Year!” It cares about its people, its places, and the humanity of it all. Nelson and Lawlor turn in splendid performances that feel entirely authentic, and endear the audience to the people at the heart of the story. Lawlor, in particular, has such a lovely charm to her: spunky but not snarky, driven but not selfish, sweet but not perfect. She is the ideal vessel for the story and its many emotional strings. Everybody who worked on Green and Gold brought their A-game and made what could have been your run-of-the-mill drama into a truly sublime movie.

Green and Gold is now playing in theaters.