One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I loved jack Nicholson in Something’s Gotta Give, I liked him in the Bucket List , in Shining, in Wolf, in The Departed, even in Batman. I did not in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest , released in 1975 and directed by Milos Forman. This movie left me uneasy. It was moving and emotional towards the end, but it took such a looooong time to get there!!

McMurphy hopes he can get out of doing time in prison by pretending to be mad and is sent to a mental asylum. He seems at first the unpleasant guy taking advantage of the fragile patients – running cards game and taking everyone’s money and cigarettes, but evolves as someone who cares, which is also why he starts challenging Nurse Ratched. The story with Billy, both during the therapy session and at the end was very sweet – what I found a bit shocking though McMurphy being fairly understanding with the patients, while having absolutely zero respect for the women in general, and Candy in particular. Granted, she is a prostitute, but I was shocked by the way he and the guard treat the two girls during the party at the hospital. His main attempt to try and “wake up” the mentally ill patients is at the beginning: “But I tried, didn't I? Goddamnit, at least I did that”, and is linked directly to the end, where everyone is better off for having known him.

I may have a bias against Jack Nicholson, he genuinely looks crazy in general, and I am guessing it is probably one element that bothered me. That said, the end is heart-breaking. 

I liked the Indian guy, aka the Chief, particularly when he starts talking.

It was strange: I never saw it coming that he would end up being one of the main characters of that movie. But I have learned since then the movie is inspired from a book by Ken Kesey, that tells the story from the Chief’s point of view. Being seemingly deaf and stupid, I could not really understand at first why McMurphy took such an interest in him. At the end, though, it is obvious. It’s good that the Chief gets the last word, so to speak.

Nurse Ratched is as unpleasant as expected, her calm contrasting very well with McMurphy (Nicholson)’s livelihood. Clearly, his arriving at the asylum marks the end of her dominance, and it is clear she does not appreciate the improvement in the patients’ therapies. Seems the actress, Louise Fletcher, did not do much after that film, appearing mainly in TV shows such as Heroes, Private Practice, ER, etc…

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised to see actors Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd (unforgettable Doc in Back to the Future) play two patients.

All in all, likely a must-see, but it took me a very long time to get into the movie. Too long.

Pee Wee's Big Adventure

Someone very dear to me advised me to watch Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, released in 1985.

I had watched some scenes of it and was dubious, but in the end that’s what this project is about: watching things I would not necessarily have picked. The movie was directed by Tim Burton, and I got to admit, I was not disappointed.

This is a movie for kids: Pee-wee loves his bike more than anything else in the world and refuses to sell it to his obnoxious neighbor Francis. But the bike is stolen, and Pee-wee visit a psychic who tells him his bike is in the basement of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. After realizing that this is a joke, he keeps going on. His adventures will lead him to Hollywood, where he is reunited with his beloved bike and his friend Dottie, happily ever after.

The movie is a succession of short, humoristic scenes, some of them better than other. Having been in Texas recently, I particularly liked these ones, in reference to the pride of Texans for their history and culture:

Additional good scenes include:

1. With Dottie at the bike shop:

Pee-wee: There's a lotta things about me you don't know anything about, Dottie. Things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand. Things you shouldn't understand. Dottie: I don't understand.

Pee-wee: You don't wanna get mixed up with a guy like me. I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel. So long, Dott

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKLizztikRk

2. When trying to get the truth out of Francis, who is taking a bath: Go ahead and scream your head off! We're miles from where anyone can hear you! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuQDYOrh5wM

All in all, a good moment, once you get over the extremely annoying voice of Pee Wee (played by Paul Reubens). Oh, and way too much make-up on this guy, it doesn’t look natural. Granted, it is probably meant to be so, but that really bothered me. I am not saying it is the best movie of all times, but it is worth taking the time. I liked it.

Rebel Without a Cause

As part of the movie project, I decided to watch the movie Rebel Without a Cause, with James Dean, released in 1955. Everyone has heard about it, if only because James Dean generally embodies the spirit of his generation and, having died young, became an icon. The film title refers to the book by Robert Lindner, Rebel Without a Cause: The Hypnoanalysis of a Criminal Psychopath, even though it carries no reference to it. The filming started in black and white and was eventually switched to color.

Scenario goes as follows (and yes, James Dean is gorgeous and sexy, but what’s the point of saying it for the millionth time):

Night – Jimmy is at the police station, drunk and unhappy

Morning – He tries to talk to a girl who ignores him (how someone can ignore James dean is beyond my understanding, but out of scope)

Afternoon – He goes on a class trip and fights with the “cool” kids

Evening – Takes part into the “chickie run” and Buzz dies 

Later that night – the girl declares her unconditional and everlasting love for Jimmy, Plato loses it, Jimmy and his parents make up, the girlfriend is introduced to the parents, and all is well in the world. Boom, the end.

Man, if things were that easy nowadays!!!!!! Jokes aside, I tried to put it back in the context of the 1950s, when the movie was released. In the context of that time, this movie was very likely a shock – trying to “portray the moral decay of American youth, critique parental style, and explore the differences and conflicts between generations”. Again, no need here to get into psychology, search for the father, etc….

I was not excessively impressed by the storyline, and I suspect why: nowadays movies are so much more straightforward, more violent, uncensored, that this felt a little like a movie for kids (today’s kids!). So, I dug a little deeper, to see the story around the movie and the cast, and gathered some interesting facts. Funny enough, there were attempts to create a film version of Lindner’s book in the late 1940s, without a film or a full script being produced. In 1947, Marlon Brando did a screen test for a possible role in a potential film version of Rebel. In the end, the film was the result of a new script written in the 1950s that had nothing to do with the Brando test. And guess what! The screen test is included on the DVD of the 1951 film A Streetcar Named Desire!

Nicholas Ray

It seems the filming of the movie was about as scandalous as the movie itself: Nicholas Ray, the director, was notoriously bisexual and started an affair with 16-year old Natalie Wood, who then went into a simultaneous relationship with Dennis Hopper (Speed, Cool Hand Luke,…). Ray is also rumored to have had an affair with Sal Mineo, who plays Plato in the movie, and is the (self-proclaimed) “first gay teenager on film”.

There is some irony to it though: in the 1950s, movies were, as I mentioned, full of symbolism but never too explicit, however behind the scenes was a whole world of sex, drugs and alcohol that was more or less public knowledge. Nowadays movies are more than explicit, but the lives of directors and actors is much more discreet, and they always send a very polished public image.

A classic, yes, a cultural must, yes, but I found the stories behind the scenes more fascinating than the movie itself. I cannot halp wondering though: would this film have achieved the same fame if its charismatic star has not died in a dramatic accident one month before the release?

Million Dollar Baby

Million Dollar Baby was released in 2004 and is directed by Clint Eastwood.

Maggie asks Frankie Dunn, a boxing trainer, to train her, but he refuses because she is a woman and 31 years old. She perseveres, encouraged by and Frank's friend and employee, ex-boxer Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris. Scrap is the narrator of the story.

When Dunn's star boxer, Big Willie, signs another manager, Dunn agrees to train Maggie. She fights her way up to the welterweight division, winning most games with first-round knockouts. As time goes, Dunn comes to establish a strong bond with Maggie. Finally he secures her a $1 million title match in Las Vegas against "The Blue Bear", a German ex-prostitute who has a reputation for dirty fighting. As Maggie begins to dominate the fight, Billie knocks her out with a punch from behind. Maggie lands on a stool, breaks her neck, and is left permanently immobilized from the neck down. After several months in a specialized institution, she asks Dunn to help her die while she can still remember her success, but he refuses. When she tries to kill herself, he finally agrees to it; before administering a fatal dose of adrenaline, he tells Maggie the meaning of her nickname Mo Cuishle : "my darling, and my blood". Afterwards, he disappears.

I knew the story beforehand, but watching it was till amazing: the actors are fantastic. Maggie’s willpower transpires and get the spectator rooting for her, we see Dunn’s own demons fade away as his relationship with Maggie goes stronger, her family is just enough unpleasant so that we want to take them out for good. It is difficult to deal with the theme of euthanasia right, but here it is the logical step, the only solution, and no matter the opinion on the topic, here it is obvious for anyone watching there is no other solution. Hell, if it had been me I probably would not have waited so long. I also think that Maggie wants to die for the reasons she mentions, but also because she does not want Dunn to feel he has to be here for her. This is also a story about passion and willingness to follow dreams, at all costs, no matter what other people say.

I am sorry to report I had never watched a movie with Clint Eastwood (note to self: add The Bridges of Madison County to the list) and am now a fan. I like Hilary Swank, she is an amazing actress, and a lucky one, too: in the movie, she gets to be best friends with both Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman! Although I am not sure she did anything worth it since this film?

A simple story, told simply and decently. Loved it.

A Streetcar Named Desire

I did now know what to expect when I started watching A streetcar named desire, by Elia Kazan, released in 1951, and starring Vivien Leigh and a god-like Marlon Brando. I had half-expected a love story, and barely read the synopsis, based on a play by Tenessee Williams. Shame on me.  This black and white movie requires full attention: get distracted for a few seconds and you'll miss something.  

Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister Stella in New Orleans. Stella is married to rough Stanley, and for two hours, the mesmerized spectator watches as Blanche's life falls into pieces and as she, inexorable, loses all sense of reality. Being someone who likes things said as they are, bluntly, it was a bit difficult for me to understand everything and see "behind the scene" what's really happening. For instance, I missed the fact that her late husband was gay, and I definitely missed the rape, barely evoked.  Blanche is the center of the story: at first she seems pure and innocent, but we discover her self-conscious and lonely, and watch her degrade as the movie goes by. She longs for companionship and almost finds it, but her past comes back and ruins all prospects for a "second chance".   Stanley is the one that makes her fall, as he forces her to face reality, a reality she is incapable of handling. As a result she retreats into her perfect world and loses her grip completely.

So indeed, the story is complex, and covers a lot of psychological themes that are not the topic of this entry, and I could not keep my eyes off the screen: both actors are tremendous, and, in spite of his quite unpleasant character, thank God for Marlon Brando! 

On some level, I was able to relate to Blanche, who wears a mask to present a perfect image to the world, and holds on to it even though it is crumbling, as she is simply looking for happiness. Again, the last word is for her: 

"I don't want realism. I want magic!"