Reviews
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
An emotional and timely masterwork
It's easy to see why those who have not yet faced the task of grieving departed ones might see Saving Private Ryan as sappy and feel manipulated by it. There is little doubt that Spielberg wants to impart strong feelings of tragedy and loss in this film - the same authentic tears that surface each day at the Vietnam War Memorial. To my mind he evokes these feelings with as much, if not more intensity than he did in Schindler's List.
Few directors block a shot to serve feeling, story and characters as well as the mature Spielberg. And in Private Ryan, he scores emotional bullseyes with devasting power. Unlike George Lucas, whose narrative skills have gotten rusty with disuse, Spielberg continues to work hard at his narrative thoughtfulness, economy and authenticity. In Saving Private Ryan, Spielberg shows his mature pacing and mastery in numerous scenes - most notably in his shot coverage of the wordless scene in which Private Ryan's mother realizes she's about to be notified about her sons.
Spielberg's model here is not "Kelly's Heroes" or other war films, but "The Best Years of Our Lives", the late-forties academy award winner that best enshrined and exorcised the post-war experience for WWII vets and families. (Unlike that epic, Private Ryan deserved but was denied the best film Oscar.)
Many cinematic virtues have been attributed to Private Ryan that are to my mind unremarkable. Gritty, realistic action is to be expected from any eight figure 90's battle film. I award Spielberg no points there. Subordinating plot momentum to explore characters episodically is risky, but it's still not a stretch.
What is a stretch, and would be for any director, is achieving the utter respect, reverence and quietude the average viewer leaves the theater with just fifteen minutes after the sense-numbing climactic battle scenes are over. This is primarily because Private Ryan's opening and closing scenes bracket the cinematic tour de force with a much quieter and still-current personal reality. How many were saved in similar sacrifices? How did my own father or grandfather survive? When we realize what is truly owed, we're all humbled.
The open and pliant soul who has known grief and loss first-hand and who watches this masterwork cannot help but reconsider the sacrifice of a generation of young men - and the connection between those young men on the screen and the very real 75 year old men still walking our streets.
It is this accomplishment, this bridge that Spielberg built between three generations of twentieth century Americans that impresses me. It's a film that had to come when it did - for us living now. Although future generations may benefit from watching Private Ryan, by then the generation portrayed on screen will have passed away. For now, they are still with us and have stories to tell. Private Ryan awakened my gratitude to them.
Call Private Ryan sappy if you like. I know it left a fingerprint on my heart deeper and more meaningful than ET ever did. For those of you who don't get it, I hope you'll ask your grandparents and listen to their stories while they're still alive. Maybe you'll relate more personally to the material.
Last Summer in the Hamptons (1995)
Chekov on Long Island
Henry Jaglom, a film maker as much tied to the New York theater world as he is to Hollywood, writes and directs a story well-keyed to his split loyalties.
A Hollywood actress about to sign on for her umpteenth reprise of a commercially successful but cartoonish role longs for artistic redemption and a full workout of her instrument. She travels with a friend to a dying temple of private summer theater in East Hampton, New York. There she visits with a legendary actress (Viveca Lundfors) and her extended family as they mount their last summer play before selling their long held homestead.
The family members are neurotically, hopelessly tied and dedicated to each other - tearing at each other for understanding while upstaging each other. The Chekovian scale and tone of this screenplay are both well met - the dying estate, the large ensemble and tumbling scenic structure. There is much of Woody Allen, Ingmar Bergman, John Cassavetes and Chekov here. The scenes are tightly written, and deftly played - and very likely improvised off and on. Andre Gregory does a funny turn with Victoria Foyt in one wrestling scene. Melissa Leo, drenched in longing as Trish, hits some fabulous peaks. Victoria Foyt as Oona is also strong. Lundfors thoroughly understands her role as a legendary matriarch whose attempts at self-effacement never quite ring true.
This is a funny, loving look into the foibles of a theater family -- their fatuously ego-driven yet heart rending issues. For theater lovers and mature fans of Ibsen, Chekov, Joyce, Mike Leigh, Bergman or Allen "Last Summer" will be satisfying. For others, be forewarned. You may miss the point.
A Walk on the Moon (1999)
Freedom or Family?
An honest, sometimes humorous, sometimes agonizing rendering of a 50's marriage reaching a "renew or bail" crisis in the Woodstock summer of '69. Well observed, sensitively directed and acted, featuring a standout cast. You'll be hard pressed to say who turns in the star performance here; Feldshuh, Lane, Mortensen, Schrieber or Paquin. They all deliver. Each scene is written with great economy and elegance, and Diane Lane plays her character's central ambivalence masterfully and with a vulnerable sexuality that is utterly convincing. Feldshuh has strong scenes as Lane's mother in law, and plays them with a clear Joanne Woodward-like presence and wisdom. Blocking, shooting and cutting are all unpretentious throughout but never fail to maximize the meaning of each scene.
Fifteen years ago the ideal cast for this story would have been Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Hersey and Sam Shepard. This lesser known cast, remarkably, produces magic of the same caliber.
Well done. Very well done.
Down in the Delta (1998)
Fine Acting and Story
A warm and life affirming story. Alfre Woodard gives another memorable, emotionally compelling performance in a story that engages from frame one. Al Freeman's fabulously inspired and understated performance as Uncle Earl is a lesson in how to fully inhabit a character without chewing the scenery. His is a most convincing and moving performance that should not be missed.
Mary Alice has become one of the great African American screen matriarchs now, possessing a vulnerable serenity in this role which underscores our hopes for the rebirth of the urban progeny at the core of this film.
Maya Angelou got up to directorial speed fairly quickly in this debut although some blocking and editing from early in the project (in opening scenes especially) are rough. She doesn't show a professional sense of timing in many of her edits and scene endings, but the heart she brings to her material more than compensates. And there are instances of excellent intercharacter cutting in scenes where it counts. It's fair to say that there's not a wasted scene anywhere in this film. It's equally fair to say that some scenes show more directorial finesse than others. Look for even greater work from this master poet.
The only disappointment is Stanley Clarke's score, an unfortunate embarrassment for Mr. Clarke who is an accomplished jazz bassist otherwise. His score shows little ability to become emotionally involved with dramatic material and no skill with scenic beats and transitions. Clarke had a major opportunity to deliver here and he blew it -- and this is truly a hard movie to screw up.
"Down in the Delta" is movie blessed with plenty of heart and a talented ensemble that delivers. Well worth two hours of your time.
Flesh and Bone (1993)
Fine performances; first class writing and direction
Very few false moments in this Sydney Pollack ensembled film. Steven Kloves shows skilled insight as both writer and director here, putting fine oblique touches to his dialogue, applying a steady observant eye (with DP Phillipe Rousselot's help) to the blocking and shooting, and using Thomas Newman's music to optimum effect. His sparse and well-placed music cues highlight the great writing by Tom Newman here, which is of a quality equal to Newman's later score for Horse Whisperer. TN is truly one of the most evocative composers working in film this decade.
Flesh and Bone features the best acting I've ever seen Meg Ryan do, though she won't probably cite it herself, any more than Sarandon cites Lorenzo's Oil. Disregard the flack. Serious character work going on here if you want to see what Ryan can really do.
Her hubby Dennis Quaid antes up too, combining sullen, well modulated internal work with a wry vocal tone and a great understanding of his character's moment to moment decision making. No rakish charm here.
Paltrow is surprisingly edgy and cynical, although mostly a foil for Ryan and Caan. Caan is workman-like, effective, but a hair hammier than the rest. Luckily the script and director don't give Jimmy too much rein; he's done better (For fine Caan see Chapter Two or Thief). Overall, Flesh and Bone is a solid nine drama, well worth renting, and graced with a few story surprises. Real film buffs will be gratified.
Al-massir (1997)
Brave, exuberant filmmaking
Americans and Europeans should treat themselves to the courageous joy of this infectious film, if you can find it. If you're looking for Latcho Drom with a great story, this is it!
Destiny is singularly beautiful in that it celebrates humanist passions and ideas as they were once allowed to be expressed in the Islamic culture of 12th century Spain. The Egyptian director Youssef Chahine ventures this anti-fundamentalist statement in a contemporary cultural climate where fundamentalism is on the rise. It exposes the street fascism and subtle eroticism that seduces young men into such sects.
Destiny is exuberant. It has humor, music, dancing, free thinking dialogue, intriguing sets and architecture and, most of all, the ensemble portrayal of a joyful philosophic community whose members you can really grow to love. All the earthly things fundamentalists detest!
Chahine deserves a larger world audience, by virtue of his bravery and outspoken-ness. He argues at risk of his own life in this film. If Akira Kurosawa could be embraced so wholeheartedly by the international community, so should Chahine. This film is a landmark. I hope financing from our part of the world will find its way to him. He has guts and passion.
The film itself is like nothing else you will see made on these shores. It is emotionally unabashed. Our western ideals of coolness and hipness restrict many of our directors and actors. Passion is too often reserved for climactic moments, and commonly those moments are angry intimidation or vengeance scenes sparked by the Pacino clones of the world. Much of the actor's job is running and posing. In Destiny, the actors are not posing - they are joyfully uninhibited and alive!
Recommended highly!! Vigorous entertainment. Brave ideas. Exotic sets. Bold, hand-hewn directorial craftsmanship. Great true story. And your only chance to see 12th century Andalusian culture come alive!