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Review
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Today's
Date is:
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Pollock
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Reviewed
by: |
Christopher
J. Jarmick |
| Genre: |
Drama-Biography |
| Video: |
Anamorphic
1.85:1 Widescreen |
| Audio: |
Dolby
Digital 5.0, Dolby Digital 2.0 |
| Language: |
English |
| Subtitle: |
English
(Captions Only), French, Spanish |
| Length: |
122
minutes |
| Rating: |
R |
| Release
Date: |
07/24/01 |
| Studio: |
Columbia
Tristar |
| Commentary:
|
Director
and Star Ed Harris feature length commentary is full of compelling
film-making insights. |
| Documentaries:
|
Making
of Pollock documentary |
| Featurettes:
|
The
Making Of Pollock is more insightful and less purely promotional
than most Making Of featurettes. |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
Selected
Filmographies of the principal players included |
|
Interviews: |
Aired
interview with P.B.S.'s Charlie Rose included. |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Theatrical
trailer for Pollock and also 32 Short Films about Glenn Gould
included |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
A
handful of deleted scenes inclued. |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Ed Harris,
Marcia Gay Harden,. Amy Madigan, Jennifer Connelly, Jeffrey
Tambor, John Heard, Bud Cort, Val Kilmer |
| Screenplay
by: |
Written by
by Barbara Turner and Susan J. Emshwiller. Based on the book
Jackson Pollock: An American Saga by Steven Naifeh and Gregory
White Smith |
| Produced
by: |
Joseph Allen (II), Fred
Berner, Peter Brant, Ed Harris, John Kilik (II),Cecilia Kate
Roque |
| Directed
By: |
Ed Harris |
| Music: |
Jeff Beal, Tom Waits
|
| The
Review: |
Pollock
may not be a film that is at the top of your must see list.
Perhaps if you're a big fan of Ed Harris, interested in Jackson
Pollock or actually remember that Marcia Gay Harden deservedly
won a best supporting actress for her role here you'll be getting
a copy of this as soon as possible. * * * When I assure you
the film is a focused, uncompromising and rather bleak film
about an alcoholic with lots of inner demons who becomes a celebrated
artist but never finds true happiness of satisfaction, you'll
probably start thinking that sounds pretty much what you thought
the film would be like. It's a very familiar sounding kind of
film that's been done many times before, it's depressing and
you can easily pass on it. * * * Well before you skip the film
let me tell you that is full of wonderful performances and it
really doesn't make a single false step under Harris' remarkable,
seamless, and confident directorial debut. It was Ed Harris
project of love. He was told by his father he resembled Jackson
Pollock, received and read a book on the famous artist as a
gift and decided he would someday make a film about it. It's
taken him 15 years to do it. And the film is full of rather
familiar material which Harris refuses to pump up by over-stylish
or arty. He's telling a true story. The film is, what it is.
* * * * * * What it is, is a fairly simple straightforward biography
with some truly remarkable moments and some brilliant performances.
Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden deliver rich full performances
as Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner. Some famous and recognizable
faces like Val Kilmer (as Willem de Kooning), Amy Madigan (as
Peggy Guggenheim)Jeffrey Tambor (as famed art critic Clement
Greenberg), John Heard (as Tony Smith) and Jennifer Connelly
(as Ruth Klingman) show up in supporting roles. In one of the
most delightful casting choices, Bud Court appears in a few
scenes as a Howard Putzel companion of fellow art patron Peggy
Guggenheim. He manages to steal a couple of moments in the film
to call his own. * * * The film however belongs to Harris and
Harden as Pollock and Krasner who help us understand what makes
a unique, troubled relationship like theirs tick. * * * The
film opens on an almost surreal scene in which a woman clutching
a Life Magazine article about Jackson Pollock to her bosom,
moves through a crowd to get Pollock's autograph. Pollock's
look as he autographs the article is not one of a man who is
enjoying his popularity and the attention, but one of a man
who isn't sure what he should feel. He is worried that he feels
almost nothing. Is he doomed? * * * We flash-back nine years
to Greenwich Village, New York City circa 1941 and meet the
alcoholic, manic depressive Jackson who is literally being carried
home by his brother. He's on the verge of being discovered as
an artistic talent, but has worn out his welcome with his sister-in-law
who is pregnant and wants her husband to take on the responsibility
of his own family and stop partying with his brother the half-crazed
artist. * * * Good thing, Lee Krasner takes an interest in Jackson
and is intrigued with more than just his art. She gives him
the suggestion to come see her and although it takes him three
weeks to do so, they begin a rocky romance in which Krasner
becomes his number one fan, promoter, muse, and eventually his
wife. They move out of Greenwich Village and Pollock becomes
temporarily sober, finds his true artistic style, and tastes
some degree of fulfillment and happiness, before it all turns
sour again. * * * The film is made up of one wonderfully constructed
and acted scene after another. They may be somewhat familiar,
but there's a an authenticity to all of these scenes few films
capture. The film's highlights are those scenes in which we
watch Harris as Pollock discover his drip and controlled splash
method of painting. These aren't overly stylized scenes like
the ones you might have seen depicting Nick Nolte maniacally
painting a canvas ( in Martin Scorcese's contribution to the
film New York Stories), but a realistic depiction of , not merely
a half-crazed possessed creative process, but a creative process
that is methodical, almost precise, purposeful and not made
by accident. Everyone will understand the phrase a WORK of art
much more clearly after watching this film. Harris isn't an
actor at all during these scenes, he has completely become Jackson
Pollock and we completely believe we are watching an artist
at work, not an actor pretending to be an artist at work. In
the work of making his art, at least at times, Jackson was free
from his inner demons, and life pressures. He was in his groove
as a unique artist when he meticulously created his splashes
drips and textures of color that become his most celebrated
contribution to modern art. It is during these creative scenes
when the film comes to a vibrant, magical life. It positively
crackles not with a manic energy but one of excitement, discovery
and creativity. A little later on, Jackson Pollock paints for
a documentary film-maker. He must stop painting when the film-maker
runs out of film. He is asked to paint on glass so the film-maker
can film through the glass as he paints. Jackson realizes he
is capable of prostituting his own creativity and art. The demons
are back and he returns to his familiar self- loathing alcoholic
ways with a vengeance. It will destroy his relationship completely
with Krasner and ultimately end his life in a tragic car accident.
* * * Toward the end, like Pollock himself, the film seems to
lose some of it's energy. Pollock rarely feels the magic of
his creativity. This is done on purpose and it's a risky choice
that pays off for director Harris and the film. Pollock lost
his grasp on his art, his love and muse and then his own life.
And the film shows us how empty, lost and unfulfilled Jackson
Pollock felt at the end of his life. * * * Several scenes in
the film are breathe and are full of empty space that is not
filled with fast edits or background music telling you how you
should feel. At other times the film uses background music to
good effect. The film isn't stylized for the sake of being stylized
and Harris doesn't make the film easier or more enjoyable to
watch by adding elements to please or placate the audience.
* * * Ed Harris' and Marcia Gay Harden's performances are praiseworthy,
and most of us respect people who achieve their goals because
of dogged persistence and hard work like Ed Harris has done
in making this film. He commissioned a screenplay of the 1989
book that inspired him to make the film : Jackson Pollock: An
American Saga by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith. * *
* The fact the film doesn't make a false step, contains a few
truly magical and memorable scenes and takes chances which might
be too subtle for most to notice makes it a film I will be revisiting
and possibly putting very high on my own personal top films
of all time list in the near future. It also means that those
who admire the film to some degree will undoubtedly claim the
film is too reverential of its subject to try something wild
and stylistic. Harris should have been more passionate and crazed
not just with his performance but in his film-making. I think
it would have been too easy to create an opera out of Pollock's
life and it was much more challenging and honest to do exactly
what screenwriters: Barbara Turner and Susan J. Emshwiller,
and Harris have done with the film. * * * Little moments are
perfectly realized by the actors throughout the film. How Pollock
at one point passes his hands over one of Krasden's paintings
to help him determine if he likes it or not. Some of those perfect
line readings where actors capture more than just a line of
dialogue. There's a couple of moments captured by Bud Court
(one of them occurs when he is simply bursting at the seams
to let Pollock know some very good news and restrains himself
for just a moment till the good new just explodes out of his
mouth), there's at least one by Amy Madigan, Jeffrey Tambor
and several by Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden. Harris remarkably
is able to capture a look of childlike fraility one moment and
then be selfishly utterly lost in his own thoughts the next.
I can't say there are many films I eagerly anticipate being
able to watch again. This is one of those films. And it's not
because the material is dense, but because the performances
are so rich. There's also several subtle comic moments sprinkled
throughout the film which I relish the though of appreciating
and savoring sometime in the future again. * * * Christopher
Jarmick,is the author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder
a steamy suspense thriller which is now available (glasscocoon@hotmail
for details). * * * * Original portions of this review Copyright©
Christopher J. Jarmick 2001. The above work is protected by
international copyright law. |
| Image
and Sound |
Visually
the film is presented in anamorphic widescreen . The transfer
quality is top rate with few notable blemishes or distortions
of any kind. The black levels are strong throughout and as we
switch from bightly lit outdoor scenes to darker indoor shots
there seemed to be no noticeable problems presentation on this
DVD. Colors are not only bright and strong but vibrant without
being oversaturated and I did not notice any bleeding. I also
did not notice any compression artifacting during the film.
* * * Two audio tracks include the 2.0 Dolby Digital track and
a 5.0 channel Dolby Digital track. Even without the LFE (bass)
track (as in Dolby 5.1 tracks) the mix is full bodied and rich
at all times without any noticable surface noise or distortion
of any kind. The full spectrum is used very subtly throughout
the film and is quietly impressive. |
| The
Extras |
The "MAKING
OF POLLOCK " featurette is full of interesting details and is
not your typical puff piece serving as a long form commercial
for the film. It shows us with some detail how Harris 'faked'
the intense painting scenes, how he picked his cast and several
of the decisions and choices he made. It has some of the same
information as the commentary track does but at 20 minutes is
a nice concise way to learn a lot about how this film was made.
* * * * * The ED HARRIS INTERVIEW from the P.B.S. Charlie Rose
show is about 20 minutes long and features Ed Harris being inverviewed
by Charlie Rose and discussing not only the film but Harris'
intense interest in Pollock and art. It's one of Rose's better
interviews and offers some valuable insights into the making
of the film and Harris.* * * * There are Four DELETED SCENES
which were taken from work prints of the film and so are in
pretty mediocre shape. One of these scenes is truly a wonderful
addition to the DVD as it shows an extended sequence that adds
some depth and understanding to the relationship Pollock had
with muse, enabler, and wife Lee Krasner. * * * * |
| Commentary |
The feature
length commentary track by Ed Harris is full of insightful information.
Harris is a bit too dry and on the dull side to listen to but
if you are interesting in the process of film-making, and/or
Harris this is one of the better commentary tracks you'll come
across. |
| Final
Words: |
Dramatically
Pollack is familiar stuff, but is based on a true story. There's
not enough unique about the film's story or style, but there
are a couple of truly remarkable sequences and several performances
to more than make it worth your time. If you are even slightly
interested in Jackson Pollack, or Ed Harris or Marcia Gay Harden's
Oscar winning performance you should put this film on the top
of your must see list. On the other hand, if the films you like,
have to be to be loud, obnoxious roller coaster rides with lots
of things blowing up. . . skip this one- you'll hate it. * *
* * * * Christopher Jarmick,is the author of The Glass Cocoon
with Serena F. Holder a critically acclaimed, steamy suspense
thriller. For information on Author readings/signings or availability
of special autographed editions of the novel email: glasscocoon@hotmail
for details. * * * |
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