Quiz Show (1994)

            The infamous Twenty-One scandal of 1956 rocked the nation when viewers across the nation learned that the charming, All-American contestant Charles Van Doren was a fraud.  Now we wonder how audiences could *not* have known this. Kind of like how hard it is to believe audiences were too naïve to realize George Michaels was gay.

 

 

He makes Tinker Bell look manly.

Game shows were so new that no rules governed what studios could and could not do with their audience. Back then we were, quite frankly, naïve fools. TV was new, celebrities were new, and it was unknown that, when combined, the two lead to a total takeover of one’s own dickish nature.

Robert Redford’s 1994 historical drama chronicles the scandal. And while it does stray from facts, it is a very enjoyable film. Redford – famous for his cinematography – recreates the fifties with a glamorized charm. He approaches the story as a detective story; he lets viewers piece together the pieces as the story unfolds. Which I imagine to have been a surprisingly daunting task, since anyone who has heard of the story know what happened and who is to blame.

Ralph Fiennes plays prettyboy Charles Van Doren, college professor who begins the story as a victim, then willingly succumbs to the spoils of fame and fortune. We do not blame him, we do not hate, we feel pity for him. For, while we see his fate far down the path, he does not.

John Turturro plays Herbie Stempel; a man as dorky as his name. Turturro does a magnificent job of showcasing everything we love and hate about nerds; even the 1950’s McFly-brand.

Topping it off are an abundance of fine character actors and two very enjoyable hours.

9/10 – Superb Entertainment

The Horse Whisperer (1998)

Truth is, I help horses with people problems.

     The Horse Whisperer is a fascinating film. It is one of a rare breed; those that understand a true movie is not about the destination, they are about the journey. It’s not in a hurry to reach the conclusion. There is no epic climax. It simply meanders along, taking its time, while managing to never be boring.
The film revolves around three characters: Grace MacLean is a young girl suffering from a traumatic horse riding accident that inflicted severe damage to both her and her horse, both mentally and physically. Annie MacLean her mother; a workaholic woman who sets out on a mission to haul her daughter and her daughter’s horse halfway across the country to find someone willing to help the horse recover. She also has the hope the trip will repair her fractured relationship with her daughter, for the last time they took a vacation alone was when they drove halfway across the country to purchase the horse.
And Robert Redford plays Tom Booker, a horse doctor, or “Whisperer,” who uses a gentler method to tame wild horses, working with the nature of the horse instead of against it. The character is loosely based on the real-life Buck Brannaman.

Much like his fictional counterpart, Buck makes his living off staring competitions with horses.

Redford, who also directs, uses visual images to tell major parts of the story. Each image is worth a thousand words. The gorgeous Montana landscapes only add to the splendor of the journey. Redford obviously has a fondness for Montana, for it was also the location of a previous film, A River Runs Through It – Also famous for its cinematography and landscapes.
The cast filled with small-name but prolific actors who light up the screen wherever they appear. It is a positive and refreshing look at country life – A response of sorts to the typical slack-jawed-yokel stereotype they are usually portrayed as.
Thomas Newman’s score is breathtaking, with my personal favorite cue being The Rhythm of the Horse, which movie buffs may recognize as a prominent theme in the theatrical trailer to The Green Mile.
The Horse Whisperer is a movie I highly recommend to horse fans, film buffs, and anyone looking for a good old-fashioned – and long – movie.

9/10 – Superb Entertainment

A River Runs Through It (1992)

I am haunted by waters. 

            In the vein of any coming of age film, A River Runs Through It is about two brothers growing up and trying to find their place in the world. The film takes place in the time period between the end of World War I and the stock market crash of 1929, it is set in idyllic Missoula, Montana, amid lush forests and flowing rivers.

The two brothers at the heart of the story are Norman and Paul MacLean, portrayed by Craig Scheffer and Brad Pitt, respectively. They grow up under the watchful eye of their father, a Presbyterian minister, played by Tom Skerritt. Like most brothers, they disagree, they bicker, and, on occasion, they fight. Also, like most brothers, there are the ties of family that bind them together.  In this case, fly fishing.

The story begins with an Elderly Norman standing in a river, fly fishing, and trying to understand the journey his life has taken.

“Long ago, when I was a young man, my father said to me, ‘Norman, you like to write stories.’ And I said ‘Yes, I do.’ Then he said, ‘Someday, when you’re ready you might tell our family story. Only then will you understand what happened and why.’”

And that is the heart of the film; Norman recounting his early life, and narrating it to the viewer. He and Paul grow up like anyone does, slowly but surely, on a learn-from-experience basis.

Fly fishing in this movie stands in for life. As Roger Ebert described it, “If you can learn to do it correctly, to read the river and the fish and yourself, and to do what needs to be done without one wasted motion, you will have attained some of the grace and economy needed to live a good life. If you can do it and understand that the river, the fish and the whole world are God’s gifts to use wisely, you will have gone the rest of the way.”

Norman and Paul’s separate styles of life can be read in their fly fishing. Paul is the gutsy one. He knows what he wants, he jumps in without thinking, and, when he succeeds, he is at the top of the game. Norman is much more conservative. He knows he wants an education, but even after returning home from Dartmouth, he is unsure of where he wants out of life.

While Norman was away, Paul’s life took a dramatic turn for the worse. He tried to keep it hidden, but a lifestyle of boozing and gambling will eventually catch up to you, and his family does not realize until it is too late. Norman recalls, “It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us.”

The Robert Redford directed film is based on the memoirs semi-autobiographical memoirs of the real Norman Maclean, and it is masterfully directed. Shot on location in Montana, the scenery is gorgeous, and I highly recommend the Blu-Ray.

The Blackfoot River

Also worthy of note is Mark Isham’s score that seems to capture the very heart of Montana. Elmer Bernstein also wrote a rejected score, and while the little that is available does not strike me the way Isham’s  does, I am sure it would have spectacular as well. It is, after all, Elmer Bernstein.

The film excels on every level. On the surface, there is a charming, well-written, well-acted coming of age tale. As you dig deeper, you find a heartfelt drama that tackles the very meaning of our existence and purpose in life.

Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.