Update: Blogging on Hold

    

     So, I haven't been posting much at all lately. The reason for this is that I'm doing student teaching this semester and have had very little time to devote to my hobbies. This will probably be the norm until December (when I will graduate). Hopefully, after that, I will get back to my normal level of output. Until then, I will probably post sporadically (I've been working on one review for a good while now that should be out some time in October) but I'm not making any promises.

See you all in a few months!

Musical Mondays: Show Boat (1951)

     Show Boat was released on July 17, 1951. The third adaptation of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's 1927 Broadway play which, in turn, was based on Edna Ferber's 1926 novel, it is directed by George Sidney with a screenplay by John Lee Mahin. In it Magnolia Hawks (Kathryn Grayson), the daughter of a riverboat captain, falls in love with a gambler played by Howard Keel.

     Apparently the original play, which I'm unfamiliar with, was much darker and socially conscious, focusing on the racial issues (especially miscegenation) in late 19th century America. I think this shows in the film. These themes are present early on, as we see Julie (Ava Gardner), the leading lady on the showboat, forced to leave when it is revealed that she is part-black but married to a white man, Steve (Robert Sterling) as miscegenation is illegal in the south at this time. Indeed the song "Ol' Man River", is all about the hardships faced by black American's in the post-antebellum south. After this scene, however, these issues are barely touched on so, when "Ol' Man River" is reprised at the end of the film it feels a little out of place.

     What the film does focus on is the relationship between Magnolia and Gaylord Ravenal (Keel). The two fall in love almost instantly, as Ravenal, looking for passage aboard the boat, catches her rehearsing for Julie's part. Though not an actor herself, Magnolia dreams of being one. After Julie is dismissed Magnolia takes over her part and Ravenal is hired to replace Steve. The two grow closer over the months as they tour various cities on the Cotton Blossom and eventually decide to get married and leave the ship. Making a living off of Ravenal's gambling winnings they are lucky at first, and maintain a fairly high standard of living. They happiness is short lived however, as Ravenal's luck turns sour and they end up in debt. Magnolia who, unbeknownst to Gaylord, is pregnant, becomes resentful that he is so obsessed with his gambling lifestyle, causing him to walk out on her.

     With the help of Ellie Shipley and Frank Schultz (Marge and Gower Champion), a song and dance team she knows from her years on the Cotton Blossom, she is able to get a job at a nightclub where she is seen by her father Cap'n Andy (Joe E. Brown) who offers to take her in and care for her child. Years later Gaylord, learning about his daughter from Julie, who has kept track of Magnolia, determines to reunite with her and make amends for leaving. The film ends with the family reunited as a heartbroken Julie (Steve left her many years ago) watches on.

     Despite it's flaws, the 1951 Show Boat is still very entertaining. The songs, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein are very well written and also well performed by the cast. The standout is certainly "Ol' Man River", sung with heartfelt emotion and gusto by William Warfiel's Joe. The love theme "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" is reused throughout the film to mark the progress of Magnolia and Gaylord's relationship, and it works quite well. The song and dance numbers are well staged, with Marge and Gower Champion's being a real treat. John Lee Mahin's direction is competent and features some great blocking and use of tracking shots.

     All the cast do a good job. Howard Keel is swaggering and charming as Gaylord but also does a good job with the more emotional moments. His voice, of course, is magnificent. Kathryn Grayson is fine, though somewhat unremarkable as Magnolia. Ava Gardner is great as Julie. I could barely recognize her in the later scenes when she's a sad, broken woman. She couldn't sing and was dubbed, somewhat noticeably, by Annette Warren. Joe E. Brown is absolutely as Cap'n Andy and provides one of the film's most heartfelt moments as her encourages Magnolia as she struggles to sing for the crowd in the nightclub. Agnes Moorehead is also great as Magnolia's overbearing mother Parthy.

     In the end, though it feels unfocused and lacks the social commentary of earlier versions, the 1951 version of Show Boat is still an entertaining musical with a great cast and even better musical numbers.

Score: 8/10

Western Wednesdays: Wind River (2017)

     Taylor Sheridan's Wind River is not exactly a western in the conventional sense but, like Hell or High Water before it, it explores many themes common to the genre. Released on August 4, 2017 the film is written and directed by Taylor Sheridan. It tells the story of a murder investigation on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyonming conducted by USFWS agent (played by Jeremy Renner) and an FBI agent (played by Elizabeth Olsen).

      Like countless other westerns before it, Wind River explores the relationship between Native Americans and white Europeans who came to dominate their land. What makes the film, somewhat, unique is that it takes place in modern times, looking at what life is like for these people today. The relationship between the local law enforcement at Wind River and the federal authorities is incredibly dysfunctional. FBI agent Jane Banner (Olsen) finds herself continually frustrated by the lack additional outside help as the complexities of jurisdiction on Native American land prevent this. Clearly Sheridan wanted to raise awareness about the plight of Native American women through this film. A title card at the end of the picture reveals that missing-persons statistics are kept for every demographic group except for Native American women, whose numbers remain unknown.

     The Wind River Reservation, as portrayed in the film, is a harsh, unforgiving place, much like the American West of legend. Cory Lambert, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service agent played by Jeremy Renner, is in many ways the prototypical lonely western hero. Having married an Native American women (who has since divorced him) Lambert lost his own daughter to mysterious circumstances many years ago and he feels for his friend Martin Hanson, the father of the girl who was murdered. The film deals with themes of grief and loss, feelings both men must bear together. It also deals with justice and vengeance. Cory promises Martin that he will avenge his Natalie's death. When he finally finds the man responsible he takes him up to the mountains and condemns him to the same fate as Natalie, allowing him to escape, barefoot, toward a distant road, wearing only light-weight clothing. The man only makes it a few hundred feet before collapsing and dying from a pulmonary hemorrhage. The film's final moments, as the two men sit silently beside each other, sharing their grief and loneliness, is one of the more subtly affecting images in recent cinema.

     The film is a little disjointed. The crime scenes never really fully mess with the character exploration. I think the main problem is that Elizabeth Olsen's character, who is meant to be an audience surrogate, has no real connection to the other characters and no real motivation, outside of professional duty, to solve the murder. Sheridan's earlier film Sicario, the first in his so-called "modern-day American frontier trilogy" (followed by Hell or High Water and then this film, the only one he directed), featured a similar character in Emily Blunt's Kate Macer, but she was also the POV character in that film, and her interest in the film's proceedings were well established right from the beginning.

     Sheridan's direction is quite strong. It lacks the flair that Denis Villeneuve and David Mackenzie brought to his earlier proto-westerns but is still very effective if a bit more by-the-book. Eschewing camera movement in favor of more static shots, Sheridan helps to accentuate the deathly character of the Wyoming frontier. The stark, unforgiving nature of this land is beautifully captured by cinematographer Ben Richardson. The performances are all solid. Renner is especially good as Lambert, bringing both a sense of pathos and inner strength to the role.

     Wind River, though the weakest of Taylor Sheridan's modern frontier films thus far, is still a well made, tense and thought provoking piece. Here's hoping this year's Sicario sequel (which I really need to see) is equally as good.

Score 8/10