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"'Rock'
Solid"
by Scott Mantz
"Cradle Will Rock"
Hank Azaria, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, Bill Murray, Emily Watson
Directed by Tim Robbins
There have been
numerous times in US history when communism and censorship reared
their ugly heads to threaten the Broadway stage and the Hollywood
screen. As we witnessed at last year's Academy Awards, people still
haven't forgiven Elia Kazan for ratting out many of his fellow colleagues
who were suspected of communism during the infamous Hollywood blacklisting
of the 1950's. During the Great Depression, that same threat closed
down the performance of a highly political play staged by John Houseman
and Orson Welles. This event is the backdrop for Tim Robbins' highly
ambitious new film. "Cradle Will Rock" is a sprawling masterwork
of epic proportions filled with colorful characters, raw emotion,
and intense passion, and it is a film experience you'll not soon
forget.
There's so much
going on in the movie that trying to summarize it will not do it
justice, but let's give it a try anyway. Created as an offshoot
of President Roosevelt's New Deal, the Federal Theater Project was
set up to give the country its first national theater. At it's peak
in the mid-30's, it reached 25% of the US population. Marc Blitzstein
(Hank Azaria) writes a racy political play that grabs the attention
of theater producers John Houseman (Cary Elwes) and Orson Welles
(Angus Macfadyen). For starving actress Olive Stanton (Emily Watson),
"The Cradle Will Rock" is a strong play that could be her big break
and take her off the streets. The Project loses 20% of it's staff
after the threat of communism is suspected within the ranks. The
theater is closed down, but the cast and crew are determined to
put the play on anyway.
Meanwhile, Nelson
Rockefeller (John Cusack) has commissioned Diego Rivera (Ruben Blades)
to paint a mural for the lobby of his office building. When the
resulting piece of work is revealed to have just one too many political
subtexts, including Nazi soldiers and Communist leaders, Rockefeller
insists that the painting be changed. On top of everything, a former
colleague of Rivera's, Mussolini sympathizer Margherita Sarfatti
(Susan Sarandon), tries to convince a wealthy steel magnate (Philip
Baker Hall) to lend financial support to the Italian dictator's
powerful regime. Pretty weighty stuff, huh?
This is Tim
Robbins' third time behind the camera, and it's truly amazing to
see how far he's come as a filmmaker since "Dead Man Walking". If
"Cradle" has the feel of a Robert Altman movie, then it makes perfect
sense. After all, Robbins appeared in three of Altman's films ("The
Player", Short Cuts", and "Ready to Wear"), and this certainly looks
like it was drawn from the same blueprint as "Nashville". Robbins
has developed an affinity for overlapping dialogue and long takes
where the camera follows characters in and out of the scene. This
keeps the viewer engaged to the film, and the result is truly intoxicating.
"Cradle" also
has a colorful cast of characters. Of everybody, Emily Watson shines
as the down-on-her-luck actress who's living on the streets. She'll
do anything to land a role in the play and her performance is filled
with passion and desperation. John Turturro has four mouths to feed,
but even he cannot deny the importance of having a role in this
play, even if it means he may never work in this town again. Bill
Murray plays a sour ventriloquist who's trying to keep vaudeville
alive. His bitterness gives way to the acceptance of defeat in the
wake of the chaotic and changing times. Angus Macfadyen's performance
as Orson Welles certainly captures the notorious director's vivacious
energy, but his portrayal of Welles as a drunk womanizer is a little
too much.
The film begins
with the introduction "a (mostly) true story". This allows Robbins
to take certain liberties when it comes to fabrication of the truth,
and the end result is a great film. It's hard to tell what's fact
and what's fiction, but it doesn't really matter. "Cradle" is informative
enough to capture the feeling of a bygone era, and it is dramatic
enough, especially during the finale, to end up as a truly inspiring
cinematic experience.
Because the
players are in unions, they cannot perform without the threat of
losing their jobs. But this is about art. As William Shakespeare
once said, "The play's the thing". For these actors, it's the only
thing. They'll be damned if some stuffed-shirts in Washington are
going to tell them what they can and cannot do. They rise to the
occasion for the sake of their art. In the face of adversity, these
performers found their finest hour. The same thing can be said about
Tim Robbins' rocking achievement.
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