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"Children On Their Birthdays" is based on a Truman Capote story with the same title. It's
set in the small, fictional town of Medda, Alabama during the summer of 1947. The main
characters are two 13-year old friends, Billy Bob Murphy and "Preacher" Star, and Lily Jane Bobbit, a 13-year old girl who speaks and conducts herself with a
wisdom far beyond her years. Billy Bob and Preacher play their share of mischievous pranks and live and die with the fortunes of their beloved St. Louis Cardinals
baseball team. On the day that Billy Bob celebrates his 13th birthday Lily Jane and her mother come to town. Lily Jane's grammar is perfect, her words well
chosen. She's dressed in an exquisite dress made by her mother, a mute who is an exceptionally skillful seamstress. Lily Jane uses a silk parasol to ward off the
summer sun. Billy Bob and Preacher have never seen a girl quite like her, and the boys develop quite a crush on her.
"Children On Their Birthdays" is based on a Truman Capote story with the same title.
It's set in the small, fictional town of Medda, Alabama during the summer of 1947. This film succeeds wonderfully in recreating the feeling of a small southern town at the end of World War II. The clothing, furniture, and props were well chosen to produce the desired ambience.
The main
characters are two 13-year old friends, Billy Bob Murphy and "Preacher" Star, and Lily Jane Bobbit, a 13-year old girl who speaks and conducts herself with a wisdom far beyond her years. The characters in the film are a specialty of southern authors such as Truman Capote, Eudora Welty, and Tennessee Williams. Typically, they are broken in spirit or in body, remembered for their eccentricity, their futility, and sometimes for their triumph.
Happily, "COTB" ends on a sweet note of triumph.
The main characters are brought to life with fresh, natural charm by the young players. Tania Raymonde played Lily Jane, infusing a most uncommon character with credibilty. Jesse Plemons as "Preacher" seemed right at home in the role, a red-haired, all-boy southerner, sometimes a rascal, but basically good hearted. Joe Pichler was Billy Bob, more serious and
sensitive than Preacher, but also in need of some guidance. Sheryl Lee excelled as Elinore, Billy Bob's mother.
Billy Bob and Preacher play their share of mischievous pranks and live and die with the fortunes of their beloved St. Louis Cardinals
baseball team. On the day that Billy Bob celebrates his thirteenth birthday Lily Jane and her mother come to town. Lily Jane's grammar is perfect, her words well
chosen. She's dressed in an exquisite dress made by her mother, a mute who is an exceptionally skillful seamstress. Lily Jane uses a silk parasol to ward off the
summer sun. Billy Bob and Preacher have never seen a girl quite like her, and the boys develop quite a crush on her.
Early in the film, Lily Jane introduces the boys to the concept of "restitution", an act of making good or restoring something to its rightful owner. This came about because Billy Bob pucked his mother's prize roses from the garden to give Lily Jane. Billy Bob's
mother, Elinore, is furious, but Lily Jane and her mother find a solution: Mrs. Bobbit sews the roses back on the stems, and they rather miraculously survive. Restitution is at the heart of the film. Lily Jane first compels Billy Bob and Preacher to change
their racist attitudes, and later in a climactic scene at church, she challenges the congregation to do so as well. The final restoration of course is the recovery
of the town's money by Lily Jane and the other children, followed by the generosity of the citizens who help Lily Jane reach her dream.
Lily Jane's ambition is to become a "star in motion pictures." To finance her dreams she plans to sell magazine subscriptions. Billy Bob and Preacher agree
to help her, but soon the boys become rivals for Lily Jane's attention. She soon makes it clear to them she's not interested in them; her ambitions lift her
above romantic nonsense. When Lily Jane catches Billy Bob and Preacher playing a cruel prank on an African-American girl, Rosalba, she chides the boys and befriends Rosalba. The boy begin to respect both girls and defend them from the taunts of Preacher's
older brothers, a couple of ruffians.
A couple of con artists, pretending to be Hollywood talent scouts and business promoters, come to town. They put on a talent show, which Lily Jane wins
easily, and defraud some of the townspeople of money. When their scheme comes to light, Lily Jane and Rosalba engage the boys in a plan to catch the crooks and recover the people's money. To show their gratitude, the victims of the fraud give Lily Jane and
her mother a sizable to reward so that they may fulfill their dreams. Lily Jane and her mother leave for Hollywood as the film ends, but not until the boys and the town have
been changed forever by her hope, quiet courage, and spirit.
In the film the boys wear striped T shirts, long khaki trousers, and sneakers. In one scene Billy Bob wears a tan suit and a bow tie to church. In this scene he's
seated in a church pew, but most likely, the suit trousers are longs. The girls wear rather long dresses and ankle socks with low heeled, slip on shoes. The costumes for all the players seem authentic for the mid-1940's.
The soundtrack contains some songs from the World War II era, "I'll Be Seeing You", for instance, as well as many original compositions that mimic the music of the era. Especially good is Lily Jane's theme, "Heaven Only Knows", a soaring and ethereal piece reminiscent of Billy Eckstine's artistry.
The title has little to do with birthdays. Lily Jane remarked that she "always pictures somewhere else, where everything is dancing. like people dancing in the streets, and everything is pretty ... like children on their birthdays." That vision guided her
and served her and the little town well. I found myself not wanting the film to end. I wanted to enter the film, sit on a front porch, listen to the sweet harmonies of the music on the radio, sip some lemonade and eat a slice of Elinore's three-layer cake with the
tutti-frutti ice cream she served at Billy Bob's party. The world had surely lost its innocence long before 1947. Eventually, each of us must also surrender that fleeting innocence. "COTB" nonetheless recreates that lost sense of hope and of dreams. Overall, this is a very moving and enchanting film. I'm not sure that Lily Jane would have been so readily accepted in a real universe. Her precocity and social conscience might well have stirred up trouble, rather than sympathy.
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