Tuesday, July 17, 2007
HALF LEFTY
Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film was the first half of Warren Beatty's
This is a long project for Beatty. An early history of the progressive movement in America.
Those of us on the left today may not even know this story.
Too bad.
The center of the story is John Reed (Beatty) and Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton).
There are many 'stars' in this great film.
The ingenious device is to interleave 'witnesses'.
Real people who were there when the events occurred in the first and second decades of the 20th Century.
Roger Baldwin, Henry Miller, Adela Rogers St. Johns, Dora Russell, Scott Nearing, Tess Davis, Heaton Vorse, Hamilton Fish, Isaac Don Levine, Rebecca West, Will Durant, and maybe 20 others.
These people are all in their 80's and they were there.
The film is over four hours long. It is expansive and yet keeps its eye on these two people and their closest friends.
I am looking forward to the second half.
Labels: best films
