You know the sort of harried, harangued and yet
utterly unflappable housewife who is often referred to as a saint? Prize Winner canonizes
one. Adapted by writer-director Jane Anderson from Terry Ryan’s memoir about her mother, the movie recounts how the late Evelyn Ryan (Julianne Moore) supported her 10 kids in the 1950s by writing winning product jingles for brand-name promotional contests. Moore’s emphasis on sunny resilience rather than any sort of robotic obedience makes it easier to accept the movie’s campaign for Ryan as the beleaguered housewife’s patron saint.
