This film's first shot unwinds with the patience,
beauty and discipline of an ornate grandfather clock.
It's a great set up for a movie that seems to be
mostly setup anyway. Rich replication of the touch
and feel of a 1930's motion picture creates the
illusion of simplicity. But, the myriad characters
and motivations are so vast, the dialogue and themes
so intense that, ultimately, you'll be surprised to
be viewing quite a complex film.
Writer/Director/Producer Tim Robbins (responsible
also for "Dead Man Walking," but perhaps better known
as the lead actor in "Shawshank Redemption") says he
spent seven years writing and re-writing this web of
a script.
The staged musical feel lends yet another hand
toward sculpting the ironically false sense of
lightness. It's a masterfully crafted, directed,
powerfully paced and dramatically filmed work whose
only fault lies in the viewer's need to wait
virtually two full hours for payoff. The pace is so
fierce and the web so intricate, that the set up is
completed just as the climax begins. Still, the
payoff genuinely pleases, mustering up a lump or two
in the throat.
Americans face the harsh reality of depression
complicated by the unionization tribulations and the
government's commie paranoia. Along with other Work
Programs, FDR spearheads "Federal Theater" designed
to put artists back to work while providing low cost
entertainment for the masses. A fine plan indeed,
until the government realizes that their commissioned
artists have rather "politically incorrect" (for the
time) themes to express. The film focuses on a
theater group directed by Orson Welles (played by
Angus MacFadyen) as it develops a musical ("The
Cradle Will Rock") so controversial that the
participants must jeopardize their rare and precious
jobs to continue.
Other historic personalities are brought back to
life as censorship debates arise, making this a great
film for the high school history teacher to present
in class.
You'll marvel at it .. simply marvel. But you may
not "feel" until the climax.
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