Rated R - Running Time: 2:02 - Released 12/15/00
POLLOCK
Rated R - Running Time: 2:02 - Released 12/15/00
America's love affair with its own history continues. Fact-based
historical pictures, especially involving the 20th century, have
abounded of late, whether they be about famous doomed ocean liners
or infamous attacks on unsuspecting naval bases, or men who almost
didn't make it back from the moon. I suppose the turn of the millennium
naturally prompts this sort of thing. But another branch of this
category is the biopic, and this is the case with actor Ed Harris's
directorial debut, Pollock. Recounting the tortured life
of famous mid-20th-c. artist Jackson Pollock, whose style knocked
the art world on its ear for a short period, the film pays tribute
to the genius of a man with the courage and the talent to pursue
his own vision rather than follow the trends of the time. But
it also shows the extent to which alcoholism and depression ate
away at the artist's psychological well-being and brought his
life to an early and tragic end. Written by Barbara Turner and
Susan Emshwiller, based on the book Jackson Pollock: An American
Saga by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, the film seethes
with intensity, riding the rocky waves of Pollock's life, and
incorporating some surprisingly energetic, Copeland-esque music
by Jeff Beal which beautifully complements the fevered style with
which the artist worked.
The film basically recounts the 15-year period between the
early '40s and the mid '50s when Pollock (played by director Harris)
rose from obscurity to equal if not surpass his main rival, Pablo
Picasso, as one of the primary artistic forces in the world. It
begins when he meets his wife, Lee Krasner (Marcia Gay Harden,
who won an Oscar for her performance here), another artist whose
influence helped get Pollock noticed by the right people. After
having seen his work, she establishes contact with the highly
influential Peggy Guggenheim (Amy Madigan), who in turn introduces
him to the world. His sudden rise to fame, culminating with an
article in Life magazine, allows him and Lee to move from
New York City to a more pastoral and inspirational setting upstate,
but his ever-present struggles with alcoholism and infidelity
put a constant strain on their marriage and their relationships
with art-world friends like Ms. Guggenheim and New York critic
Clement Greenberg (Jeffrey Tambor).
Harris, who not only stars in and directs but co-produces the
film, has certainly thrown himself into this role; it is clear
the subject matter means something to him. But this can also be
a drawback — at times, the film seems overindulgent; it bogs
down somewhat in the long center section, perhaps a result of
bad editing choices. On the other hand, Harris has chosen actors
who can effectively overcome shortcomings he may have in the post-production
phase. Harden's performance as Lee is intense and unrelenting;
it's not a character that one particularly likes so much as pities.
Krasner, an artist herself, not only had to live in the shadow
of her famous husband (whose success could arguably be attributed,
at least in part, to her influence), but also was forced to endure
his often humiliating behavior.
In the final analysis, I suppose Pollock is not unlike a Pollock painting: at times tedious and unnecessarily intricate, yet full of fascinating complexity, dark, depressing, yet oddly energetic. Tortured, yet seeking some kind of emotional outlet to help make sense of it all. Harris treats his pet project with loving care, showing the depth of his passion for the subject, but he also pulls no punches in essaying one of the many complex artistic personalities of the last century. ****