Reviewing Movies

Reading Life Magazine's Annual Roundup was formerly a Christmas ritual with me. Were it still in print one suspects Heath Ledger would have a special section all of his own. This treatment of The Taming of the Shrew was the second such high school conversion of Shakespeare done a decade ago, the second being O based on Othello and starring Josh Harnett. The only actor the two have in common is Andrew Keegan who here plays the hunky jock. At the time Ledger was a recent arrival on the Hollywood scene from Australian and this was to have been Joseph Gordon-Levitt's movie. It doesn't take long before it becomes apparent that Heath not only steals the heart of the girl but the movie as well.

At a time when the likes of Dawson's Creek and One Tree Hill gave teenagers witty parts and intelligent conversation it's easy to forget that these big-screen treatments did the same for the movies. Washington State stands in for Italy and Kate's father is a gynaecologist. Comic relief is provided by the high school guidance counsellor who is pre-occupied with writing a pulp romance novel and ogling the boys to whom she should be providing advice.

The guidance counsellor is not the only cliché about high school life that gets exploited here but what lifts this film above boring routine is the witty repartee and acting skills of the young cast. Most of the lead actors have gone on to promising careers in the decade since this movie was shot.

Greg Araki is a gay activist noted for nihilistic movies such as Doom Generation and The Living End however here he has made a movie with a definite message. This is still an Araki production admittedly bearing all his usual trademarks of explicit gay sex, sexual fondling and brutal violence therefore making this a film not intended for mainstream audiences.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Neil a male hustler all lean muscularity and boney backbone who is haunted by the victimization he suffered at the hands of his coach, a sexual predator. Fellow team mate Brian Lackey with a geeky four-eyes look about him and the same history of abuse believes he was abducted by aliens and has blacked out his memories. While Brian seeks to uncover his past Neil embarks on a self-destructive round of encounters as a sex-for-hire male prostitute ultimately moving to New York City to be with his girl friend. Uncertain of his sexuality he finds hustling an easy way to make a living until he runs into that inevitable trick who likes his sex violent and bruising.

Bearing the physical scars of his encounter Neil returns home for Christmas where he meets up with Brian and together the two engage in a therapeutic airing of their past history of abuse. Facing up to the past seems to have a healing effect on both. Neil's girlfriend warns him repeatedly of the dangers of the path down which he has headed and warns his buddy back home of dark recesses in their friend where he should not tread. To drive the message home he meets a trick who is obviously infected with advanced symptoms of AIDS.

Having just written of the self-destructive path down which another young actor, Lillo Brancato, has embarked it is gratifying to remark that Gordon-Levitt has successfully made the transition from child to mature actor while keeping himself grounded in reality. He manages to play the parts of characters who go off the deep end without carrying that malaise into his everyday life. Indeed he took a hiatus from acting to attend Columbia University.

Louisa May Alcott gained overnight success as a writer with the publication of Little Woman in 1868 at a time when teaching and nursing were barely considered respectable occupations for a woman and women were not considered legally persons for the purposes of voting and owning property. Since the proper preserves of a lady were regarded as keeping house and raising a family it was not deemed necessary that girls get an education. That all four of his daughters received home-schooling at his hands reflects their father's enlightened views and this liberal thinking is reflected in Alcott's often autobiographical writing.

Little Woman has oft been brought to screen in movies that drip of syrupy excess. The present version of Little Men, its sequel, was produced for Canadian TV and features a surfeit of young Canadian Talent.

Robin Dunne, who portraits Jo's nephew Franz has gone on to the big screen as has Corey Sevier who looks too innocent for the hard-living Dan.

The open-faced Trevor Blumas is perfect for the part of tender-hearted Nat.

Although Jo is the headmistress and owner of the school Plumfield that she founded with her late husband it is her boys who own the show.

Since this is a Canadian Production locations in and about Toronto stand in for Concord Mass. The arrival of the rough-hewn Spencer Rochfort as the hired man adds additional realism to the script but in a school for boys these lads are allowed to engage in rough-housing, the occasional fisticuffs, and bloody noses. The series received sufficiently high ratings that a second set of shows were produced giving us 8 in all.

Savage Sam is a sequel to Old Yeller and as such suffers from the usual pitfalls. Arlis is now as old as Travis was in Old Yeller and shows deep resentment of being bossed around by an older brother. He lacks the wide-eyed openness that Travis had at that age. His inclination toward rock throwing is not particularly endearing. Travis is now an adult and has lost his youthful charm. The majority of the movie is taken up by the chase that ensues when a posse takes off after a group of Indians that have captured Arlis and Lisbeth. Given modern sensibilities this scenario seems sadly dated.

Again, a Disney Film, albeit an old film. Set in Texas in the early settler period. As I've learned feral pigs are a major issue in even modern day Texas as they were when this movie was set. Cattle were driven to market in Kansas, the western railway hub, on foot. There are people in this movie but the stars are the animals and to a lesser degree the boys. The dogs may not talk here but let there be no doubt about their ability to communicate.

This is a story about the bond between a boy and his dog and the faithfulness of the animal half of that bond. Only a child could be undisturbed by a scene of a boy and his puppy eating cereal out of the same bowl. There are a few adults in this film but for the most part they supply only supporting roles. This is a land where a man does what a man's gotta do even if he is a boy. Knowing how to fend for oneself is the most important education a lad can get.

Let's be clear about this, we're in a Disney Film. Hundreds of beings get killed but there is no blood shed. The scary bits occur in scenes of nightmarish hues because that's when we're allowed to feel frightened. We are led to believe a teenaged boy can hold his own in single-handed combat against a grown man twice his age.

It's a pity C.S. Lewis isn't around to comment on what has been done with his fairy tales. We'll never have the opportunity to hear his thoughts. A high-concept movie such as this demands a suspension of disbelief and to maintain that engagement we need to be drawn into the story. Through it all the children involved maintain a healthy scepticism about the unreality of their situation. We're in a world where the good guys are hard to distinguish from the bad guys at times but there definitely are good guys and bad guys.

The special effects blend seamlessly into the action and the daylight scenes are sweeping. The heroes have very human foibles and weaknesses and the creatures behave in half human half animal fashion. One could almost believe there actually were centaurs. In the end one has to acknowledge that this is a world of make believe and if one analyses it too closely one will destroy the illusion. How much one is able to drawn into this world depends to a large degree upon one's willingness to exercise that imagination.