A bunch of meek dogs

It was surprising to see James Franco directing a serious movie based on a John Steinbeck novel of human rights activists and apple pickers who go on a strike during The Great Depression (1929-1941). It could have been worse, but frankly it could have been a thousand times better. Plethora of actors (Vincent D'Onofrio, Jack Kehler, Sam Shepard, Robert Duvall, Ed Harris, Bryan Cranston) do great, but often it was like nothing but paragraphs of the Steinbeck novel plastered together.