Copyright (C) 2001 by Michael Segers, All rights reserved
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O
Brother; State and Main
This
week, we’re looking at O Brother, Where Art Thou? and State and Main,
two films which opened in a limited number of cities back in December (to
qualify for the 2000 awards) but which are only now, in mid-January 2001
reaching nationwide audiences. The similarities don’t end there.
In fact, the two make for a particularly pleasing double-feature.
Both
films have writer/directors who have become brand names of sorts for
film-lovers. Brother’s
co-producer brothers, Joel (director) and Ethan (writer) Coen, and State’s
stage-crossover David Mamet (writer/director) are darlings of the critical
establishment. The Coens have given
us such offbeat delights as Raising Arizona (1987) and Fargo
(1996), while Mamet has challenged us with droll pieces like Wag the Dog and
The Spanish Prisoner (both from 1997).
Their fans may consider the current offerings Coen Brothers and Mamet
lite, but new audiences may find in these films what the Coens and Mamet do
best, tempered by heart, humor, and even an unexpected warmth.
Cast:
George
Clooney, John Turturro,
Tim
Blake Nelson, John Goodman,
Holly
Hunter, Chris Thomas King,
Charles
Durning, Del Pentecost,
Michael
Badalucco, J.R. Horne,
Brian
Reddy, Wayne Duvall, Ed Gale,
Ray
McKinnon, Daniel von Bargen
Directed
by Joel Coen
Written
by Homer and Ethan Coen
Rated
PG-13 for some violence and language.
Runtime:
106 minutes
Information
from Internet Movie Database
The
film opens in Faulkner country, a chain gang in Mississippi in the 1930’s, hot
and sweaty as anything Faulkner ever imagined.
But, soon, in the memorable word of a blind man who has a special kind of
sight, we are in for “startlements” that are older and wilder than
Faulkner’s startling world. As the title sequence makes clear, this is the wild and wooly
road trip of Homer’s Odyssey. As
crazy as it sounds to stir up a Greek epic, America’s own now-mythical time of
sorrows, the Depression, and some glorious music—from hobo ballads to gospel
songs—the Coen brothers pull off a major “startlement” of their own with
this rollicking rove and rave.
The
tale of three escaped convicts (Clooney, Nelson, and Turtutto) is marked by the
Coens’ typically quirky humor but without their usual cruelty.
The Brothers say that they have never read Homer’s epic, but it is
obvious that they have caught its spirit, from the very beginning, when “Big
Rock Candy Mountain” starts things off with a hobo’s fantasy; after all, the
Odyssey is the story of a hobo. In
an amazing achievement Homer’s spirit is joined to an American folklore of
country music, traveling salesmen, dime stores, and Ku Klux Klan rallies. The
KKK rally, by the way, is one of the funniest bits of film I’ve ever seen,
with its echoes of—of all things—The Wizard of Oz.
There is a sense that all of this is right.
Homer’s yarn comes alive, and it feels very American.
Like the Odyssey and America’s own epic, Huckleberry Finn,
this film celebrates rascals and rascalry, but finally, it celebrates love.
The
cast is in fine form. John Goodman
and John Turturro, veterans of other Coen projects,
are goose-bump perfect in their roles, as is Charles Durning as the
governor (he appears as a mayor in State and Mail), a good-old-boy
populist. George Clooney has never
seemed to put as much into a role as he does this one, but what a juicy role it
is, the fast talking con man (a pretty good take on Odysseus or Ulysses of
Homeric fame) with a heart that is at least gold-plated.
Holly Hunter as his wife Penny (Penelope to Homer) plays off his
performance with a level-headedness that makes his excesses believable.
This is a real popcorn film, celebrating popular culture and music, with enough hints of its classical source or analog to keep the footnote-hunters happy. But if you are Homerically disadvantaged, don’t worry, and please don’t stay away from this least depressed Depression-era tale. None of the characters in this film ever read Homer either. And, if you’re not into footnotes, surely you can get into foot-tapping, because this film’s great anthology of folk music makes this a film not just to hum but also to dance.
And,
for a special treat, you can even read this film, at least its script.
Cast:
Alec
Baldwin, Charles Durning,
Clark
Gregg, Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Patti
LuPone, William H. Macy,
Sarah
Jessica Parker, David Paymer,
Rebecca
Pidgeon, Julia Stiles, Ricky Jay,
Linda
Kimbrough, Jim Frangione,
Michael
Higgins, Vinnie Gustafero
Written
and directed by David Mamet
Rated
R for language and brief sexual images.
Runtime:
105 minutes
Information
from Internet Movie Database
From
Depression-era Mississippi, we move to the corner of State and Main in
Waterford, Vermont, where a Hollywood director (Macy) is trying to make a
film called The Old Mill. Not
the least of his problems is that the town no longer has an old mill.
This is the second town in which he has tried to make his film, since the
crew had to leave their New Hampshire location after the star (Baldwin) gave in
to his attraction to girls of about fourteen or fifteen.
Now, his lead actress (Parker) refuses to show her breasts, strangely,
since they have almost become trademarks, and his very sensitive scriptwriter
(Hoffman) is requiring more and more attention, at least, until he falls in love
with the owner of a local bookstore (Pidgeon), who happens to be engaged to….
But,
the woes of the film crew are just half the story.
The townspeople have their own problems, involving old scandals about
unsolved arsons. A large
cross-section of the town is presented, from the mayor (Durning) and his wife (LuPone),
who invite the Hollywood folks to an absurd dinner, to a teenager (Stiles) who
is eager to help the star yield to his weakness for young women.
Yet,
the whole enterprise ends up not as bitter as it seems destined to be, certainly
not in the world of David Mamet. Like
Brother this film has a rich texture made up of a wide range of
characters meeting, almost by chance, it seems.
Both films ramble, but in the end, both of them kept my attention for all
their minutes on the screen. Mamet’s
ensemble moves briskly. Macy has
never been more caught up in a character’s machinations, with necessity
becoming the mother of all motivation, and Hoffman’s romantic side is a
delightful surprise.
A
final similarity between these two films: both were completed before the
prolonged turmoil of the 2000 election. Both, however, include comments on the electoral process that
seem weirdly appropriate as we look back on the last two months of 2000.
Be that as it may, State and Main and O Brother, Where Art
Thou? both get my votes of gratitude for a couple of entertaining evenings.
For
other voting, and to continue our look at movie awards, The Hollywood Foreign
Press Association presents the annual Golden
Globe Awards, which have two distinctions.
First, they honor outstanding
achievement in motion pictures and in television as well.
Also, they have separate categories for “Best Motion Picture - Drama
“ and for “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy,” which sometimes
causes some problems. The nominees
for “Best Motion Picture - Drama” for 2000 are Billy Elliot, Erin
Brockovich, Gladiator, Sunshine, Traffic, and Wonder Boys.
The problem is that Billy Elliot is the story of a young man who wants to dance ballet, while Almost Famous, the story of a young man who wants to write about rock and roll, is nominated for “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy,” along with Best in Show, Chicken Run, Chocolat, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? Oh, well, tune in January 21st to see how it all works out. And, as always, keep your feet dry, and your heart full of noble thoughts.
The Rovin' and Ravin' Film Reviews