Curse of the Starving Class

In this cinematic adaptation of Sam Shepard's play, a mid-century farmer, portrayed by James Woods, struggles with his dilapidated farm and his self-centered wife. Despite the decay, he tends to a lamb with maggots, symbolizing his need to care for something helpless. The family's refrigerator is personified, representing the absent nurturing they crave. As the farm falls apart, the parents chase fantasies of a better life offered by con artist Randy Quaid. Meanwhile, the son, played by Henry Thomas, finds solace in the land and expresses his emotions through poetry, while his sister's responses to the crisis serve as a powerful tribute to womanhood.