‘A Man Named Pearl’: A ‘Pearl’ of a story about a gifted gardener

Pearl Fryar is a man with visions in his head. Had he been born into a cultured family of privilege in, say, 18th century Europe, maybe he would have been a great painter or sculptor.

But he was born a sharecropper’s son in the segregated South. It’s a funny thing about being a visionary, though — that stuff will come out somehow.

After Pearl had worked in a factory making soda cans for 36 years, he turned his attention to his yard. Boy, did he turn his attention to his yard.

“A Man Named Pearl” is an account of Mr. Fryar’s particular genius, which is creating marvelous and lyrical shapes and patterns out of his 3-acre piece of land. After cadging discarded trees and bushes from a nursery in his town of Bishopville, S.C., Pearl cultivated a yard of wild topiary creations.

Nothing so vulgar as literal sculptures of animals rest here. Pearl works in abstract shapes, which visitors find to be strangely soothing and peaceful.

Art critics, academics and pastors alike attest to the splendor of his work. Children come by on school trips, experiencing not only the trees but also Pearl’s generous, well-developed philosophy. (Some ladies’ groups also say they appreciate the well-developed Pearl himself — working on his garden day and night has made him quite the muscular 66-year-old.)

“A Man Named Pearl”gives some of the history of Pearl, and his celebrity in Bishopville. Economically depressed, the town gradually realized they had a tourist attraction growing on Pearl’s property.

There’s a story about Pearl trying to buy a home in a white neighborhood many years earlier, but being turned down and hearing stereotypes about how “black people don’t keep up their yards.” Wow — somebody get out the Irony file.

We meet Pearl’s family, including his bemused, rock-solid wife. His neighbors have been inspired by him, too — they’ve cooked up their own charming topiary yards.

The movie feels maybe a little padded, even at the brief 78 minutes. I would like to have known more about Pearl’s background, and how he created his code to live by.

Nevertheless, it’s a beauty.