With a jingle in her heart

JULIANNE MOORE has cornered the market on women coping with life in the repressive 1950s.

Moore is so adept at capturing the Sturm und Drang of the Eisenhower era that she received Oscar nominations for her work in the period dramas “Far From Heaven” and “The Hours.” And now she’s gone back to the ‘50s to create another indelible portrait in “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio,” which opens in limited release Sept. 28.

Based on the memoir of the same name by San Francisco-based writer Terry Ryan, the drama revolves around Evelyn Ryan (Moore), the eternally optimistic mother of 10 who, to make ends meet, finds success entering the commercial jingle-writing contests that were so popular during the decade.

But life is not all jaunty jingles and prizes. She also has to deal with her husband, Kelly (Woody Harrelson), who works in a dead-end job at a factory. Whereas Evelyn makes the most of their meager existence, Kelly drowns his sorrows -- and spends most of his salary -- in alcohol.

The film marks the feature directorial debut of Emmy Award-winning writer-director Jane Anderson (“The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom,” “The Baby Dance,” “Normal”), who fell in love with Ryan’s book, which is based on the author’s own mother.

But it didn’t start out that way.

“[Initially], Bob Zemeckis called me up; he had bought the book and said, ‘Would you like to adapt it for the screen for me to direct?’ ” she said. “I jumped at it. It took me quite a while to solve it because it’s very hard to translate a memoir into a good dramatic three-act structure.”

After Anderson completed the script, though, Zemeckis had second thoughts about directing a project with so many children. So Anderson put in her bid to direct, and Zemeckis said yes. According to Anderson, Evelyn must have been a Buddhist to cope with her difficult life. “She understood that anger and resentment does not serve your purpose,” said Anderson. “It does not lead to happiness. She was able to maneuver her way through this very difficult marriage by being loving and strong.”

Anderson and Harrelson also strove to show Kelly’s sympathetic side.

“He wasn’t a bad man. He just didn’t have the tools to rise above this oppressive situation,” Anderson said. “Woody and I talked at length about Kelly. He didn’t want to make him a bad man either. That was a very difficult role.”

The highlight of the production -- which, for budget reasons, was shot in Toronto, not Ohio -- was bringing all 10 Ryan children together for the film’s moving final sequence.

“It was a glorious day,” Anderson recalled. “Terry rallied the whole family behind the film. It was quite a moving experience when all the kids showed up.”