Sunday, December 07, 2008
TENNESSEE TERRITORY
Today's Paul Newman film was Tennessee Williams'
Newman played this on the stage. It is his role. The hapless loser, Chance Wayne, who is happy anyway. Newman is everything a Tennessee Williams anti-hero should be: charming, brooding, subtle, and looks fantastic without a shirt on. Williams cast his men very carefully.
Chance returns to his home town after a career of failed hopes in New York and Hollywood to see his real love who is the daughter of the local political boss.
He is the protegé of a faded film star and he drives her here on the way to Palm Beach where he has a new job as a beach boy for a posh resort.
The astonishing Geraldine Page is the actress, Newman's latest gigolo gig, and Shirley Knight is the girlfriend.
The powerful Ed Begley is the boss and Rip Torn his henchman son. Mildred Dunnock is the kind and ineffectual aunt of the family.
These are all standard Williams' characters and all the actors are familiar players in Williams' plays.
The political shenanigans are just the same as we see now in the Palin crowd. Redneck populism brought to a boil.
Newman explores the ground of failure without missing an inch. Armed with a pretty face, a good performance in bed and little else he faces the loss of his youth. And more. His partnership with Page shows him his future. A fading film star who is either high or low on drugs most of the time.
I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.
In reviewing Newman's work, it is amazing that he built his stardom on these doomed characters.
