October 2006

Talking About Movies: The Fall Film Season

By Frank Beaver

Most filmgoers agree that fall promises movies with more substance than the fast-food-style entertainment of summer. Although “Crash,” last year’s Academy Award winner for Best Picture, came out in May, most recent Oscar contenders have been year-end releases. They are usually serious (“Good Night and Good Luck”) or stylish, big-budget efforts with lots of pizzazz (“Chicago”). From all indications this fall will be no different.

This year’s first Oscar-season release is the re-make of “All the King’s Men.” My initial response was, “Oh, no! Not another attempt to mess around with a classic that is still worth revisiting in its own right.” The 1949 adaptation of the Robert Penn Warren novel about the rise and power abuse of Southern governor, Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford), was lauded for its dark but honest examination of American political demagoguery. The film initiated a new kind of psychological-political inquiry in its dissection of Willie Stark’s ambition, and it deserved its Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Crawford), and Best Supporting Actress (Mercedes McCambridge).

The new version is a disappointment. It’s peppered with thematic elements that may have been intended to have political currency, such as the rise of a populist figure who gains office by rousing voters with hard-hitting, home-spun rhetoric (“Nail ‘em, Nail ‘em!”) and who promises relief from previous politicians’ failings. Once elected, Stark’s idealistic intention gives way to deception and corruption, and he becomes a demagogue who speculates that something good might come “out of something bad,” i.e. the end justifying the means.

Despite the potential in its themes, and a cast of exceptional actors led by Sean Penn, the new “All the King’s Men” never coalesces as a dramatically satisfying experience. Director Steven Zaillian also wrote the new screen adaptation of Warren’s novel, and it’s the script’s shortcomings that bring the film down. There is a rambling feel to the treatment of characters and their supposed interrelationships. The result is a film of impressionistic consequence rather than cohesion and dramatic force, another remake gone awry. 

More promising films are “Flags of Our Fathers,” “Volver,” and “Dreamgirls.”

“Flags of Our Fathers” interests me for two reasons. First I’m a World War Two-film junkie and this is the story of the men who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima in the famous photograph. That event is combined with the tour that follows as the returned heroes are sent out to sell war bonds. The script is by William Broyles, Jr., and Paul Haggis.  Haggis was the writer of last year’s “Crash” and is a master at turning out multi-layered screen stories. Add to that the direction of Clint Eastwood for a final come-on.

“Volver” is a film by the great Spanish director Pedro Almodovar (“Talk to Her”) who also  wrote the screenplay. “Volver” is about a single mother, Raimunda (Penelope Cruz), her dead mother who returns as a ghost, and various other female acquaintances who enter into Raimunda’s life. The film won over audiences and critics at the Cannes Film Festival this spring and took awards for screenplay and ensemble acting. Almodovar, like Ingmar Bergman, has become  recognized as a genius for creating screen stories that explore the complex lives of women.

“Dreamgirls” promises to be the year-end big-budget pizzazz film. Taken from the long-running Broadway musical, the film is yet another a rags-to-riches entertainment tale, a la “Ray” and “Walk the Line,” about a Motown trio (inspired by the Supremes) called The Dreams. The cast is stocked with remarkable talent: Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, Beyonce and “American Idol” finalist Jennifer Hudson. The screenplay adaptation was written by Bill Condon, who won the Oscar for his screen adaptation of “Chicago.” Expect “Dreamgirls” to draw big holiday crowds and, like the others mentioned here, plenty of Oscar attention.

Film historian and critic Frank Beaver is professor of film and video studies and professor of communication.