Sommersby (1993)

From the back of the DVD: “People remember Jack Sommersby. They know him as a bitter, loutish man. But when Jack returns home after the Civil War, he's tender, caring and resourceful. Has the war changed him. or is the man calling himself Jack Sommersby an impostor?”

This is a brilliant drama starring Richard Gere and Jodie Foster as a married couple living in extraordinary circumstances. There are themes of identity running through it – Jack may or may not be who he says he is – and it also explores issues of race and personal relationships.

Foster and Gere are both excellent, juggling several plot threads: the story about who Jack is, the story of their marriage and the story of the town's agricultural fortunes. It’s moving and it keeps you guessing. 

James Earl Jones has gravitas as a judge, even if I can only hear him as Darth Vader.