Of Quiet Wisdom And Fierce Willpower

In previous years, in the lead up to St. Patrick's Day, I have occasionally reviewed a movie with an Irish aspect to it. Such is the case again this year, with a  masterful film from the 1990s that has a darker theme.

“You’re not looking me in the eye when you’re speaking to me. You see, I know how to look at people without blinking as well. In all my god forsaken life I have never known what it was like to want to kill somebody until now. You’re a brave man, Joe. A brave man.” ~ Gerry Conlon

 “Next time you see Belfast, they’ll be flying day trips to the moon.” ~ Detective

“Well, I think they should take the word compassion out of the English dictionary.” ~ Gareth Peirce

“Don’t you be comforting me when I can see the truth staring me in the face. I’m scared I’m gonna die in here.” ~ Giuseppe Conlon

“I’m a free man, and I’m going out the front door.” ~ Gerry Conlon

In 1993, director Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, The Field, The Boxer) brought a biographical courtroom drama to the big screen, telling the story of a grave injustice, of the relationship of a father and son, and of a man finding himself after a wrongful conviction and incarceration. The film, In The Name Of The Father, is based on the case of the Guildford Four and Maguire Seven out of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, people wrongfully sent to prison over terrorist acts. While it does dramatize aspects of the story, the film itself tells a powerful tale of redemption and personal growth, and boasts great performances by its three leading actors. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, in a year with Schindler’s List as competition, the movie is a masterpiece of acting.

The film opens with a bang in 1974, with a pub blown up one evening in Guildford, causing the deaths of five people and injuries to many others. We meet Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis), a Belfast youth and petty criminal, content to strip lead from roofs, drink and get high, and occasionally get involved in riots against the occupying British security forces. His father Giuseppe (Pete Postlethwaite), a peaceful man who can’t seem to reach his rebellious, careless son, intervenes when the IRA is annoyed with Gerry, and dispatches his son to stay in London with his aunt, for Gerry’s own safety.

Gerry instead falls in with a friend, Paul Hill (John Lynch), and the two explore hippie life among other like minded people, content to be petty criminals. One night, Gerry steals money from a prostitute’s apartment, chats with a man in a park, and that night the bomb goes off. It’s not long after that he stands accused of the bombing, along with Paul and two others. Giuseppe is caught up in arrests afterwards as one of several accused supporters, and the two find themselves wrongfully convicted, incarcerated for long terms in a British prison, with seemingly no hope of clearing their names.

Sheridan not only directed the movie, but co-wrote the screenplay with Terry George. It’s based on Gerry Conlon’s book, Proved Innocent, though there are dramatic licenses taken and fictional aspects to the film. The Conlons were not incarcerated in the same cell, and in fact were mostly in separate prisons. The legal process as we see it in the film is different from the events that led to the exoneration of all parties- the real process was a good deal more complicated. And yet the film’s story captures the sense of injustice of the case in a stark way- from the use of torture and intimidation in the interrogation scenes to seeing these characters robbed of years of their lives for something they had no part in. The story strongly emphasizes the notion of a son really getting to know his father, of getting past the endless friction between them. It’s a personal growth story as well, as a careless youth, spending fifteen years behind bars, matures and becomes invested in the idea of justice, and righting a terrible wrong.

The film feels quite claustrophobic, even before we find ourselves in prison. The atmosphere of the mid-seventies Belfast, with its seething tension, violence, and stark mood, is well captured by the director in early sequences, rendering the place a warren of dark streets and narrow passages. That transfers well over to the prison sequences, where life in jail is rendered in the inhuman, hard way you’d expect. Some guards are more sympathetic to others, particularly to the increasingly frail Giuseppe, who, while becoming ever more unhealthy physically, shows a quiet inner strength of character that his son comes to see. Violence of prison life is not overlooked either- rioting or an attack on a guard is depicted in a harsh way, as is the hard attitude of an IRA man who knows full well that the Conlons are innocent. Even the final act of the film, set inside a court, has a somewhat claustrophobic air, filled with tension as things go along.

Emma Thompson appears in the film as Gareth Peirce, the lawyer who works to overturn the convictions. She is sympathetic and idealistic in her approach, particularly with Giuseppe, and then with Gerry. Her first encounters with Gerry find him bitter and cynical, loathing the very idea of the justice system, and yet her words do get through to him. Much of the film is told through the framing of recorded remarks Gerry makes to her, telling her his story. The character’s integrity and determination comes through very clearly in Thompson’s performance- this is a person of inherent decency who sees an injustice and seeks to make it right. It’s a role that scored her a Best Supporting Actress nomination that year at the Oscars.

The film also scored a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Pete Postlethwaite, and really exposed him to North American audiences. His role as Giuseppe is a revelation to watch on screen. The peaceful father who’s frustrated with the carelessness and disregard of his son might be easily underestimated when we first see him, but there’s strength and resolve beneath all that. Giuseppe is a man who can talk the IRA out of punishing his son, and when he finds himself in prison, wrongfully convicted and fearing he won’t come out alive (an accurate fear), we begin to see the quiet personal strength that more than compensates for his increasing ill health. Gerry starts to see that too, getting to know his father and respect him for the first time in his life. It’s a marvel to watch these two actors interact on screen, to see Giuseppe’s hopes and fears, the way he copes with the injustice he’s living in, and Postlethwaite conveys that resolve of the man perfectly through his performance. You have these two magnificent actors together, one conveying quiet wisdom, the other a fierce sense of will, and it's a pleasure to watch.

Daniel Day-Lewis was also nominated for his work here as Best Actor, and well deserved. I would argue that this was the best performance by any actor that year (the Academy disagreed and gave the Oscar that year to Tom Hanks for Philadelphia). Day-Lewis has a history of really preparing for a role; in this case he lost weight he didn’t need to, spent three days and nights in a jail cell, was prevented from sleeping during that time by bangs on the door every ten minutes, and was interrogated by actual Special Branch officers. Apparently he also insisted crew members verbally abuse him on set. The result is astonishing to see- his Gerry Conlon goes from a careless, thoughtless, selfish, cynical youth on a path to self destruction, gets subjected to injustice, and comes alive in a fierce way, devoting himself to making a terrible wrong right again. It is character growth in a way that’s mesmerizing to watch on screen as Gerry matures, and it makes for a compelling performance. Day-Lewis is arguably the best actor alive today, and this is one of his best, if not his best, performances of his career.

The real Gerry Conlon had problems adjusting to civilian life at first, but then wrote about his experiences, and advocated for other wrongfully convicted people not only in Britain but around the world. His life came to an end in 2014 after a long fight with lung cancer, but his story, along with those wrongfully convicted in the case, makes a compelling argument against things like the death penalty as well as a harsh condemnation of the system that so flagrantly violates rights. The film, which does take liberties with the original story, maintains the tone of outrage at injustice, gives great actors a chance to shine in roles that are increasingly sympathetic as the story goes along, and proves to be a testament to willpower and resolve, with a tremendously cathartic ending. An argument can be made that the film might well have deserved the Best Picture Oscar that year- I think it’s just as good as that year’s winner, Schindler’s List, but unlike the latter film, In The Name Of The Father is a film you can realistically see more than once, admiring the raw power of its actors along the way.

Dinosaur Hunting And Other Disasters

Some links before getting started today. Norma wrote about the Triple Crown. Parsnip checked in. Eve wrote about naughty or nice. And Maria had tips for writers in regards to disposing of bodies.

Today I have another movie review...

“Oh yeah. Ooohh, aahhh, that’s how it always starts. Then later there’s running, and, ah... screaming.” ~ Ian Malcolm

“Please. Don’t treat me like a grad student. I’ve worked around predators since I was twenty years old. Lions, jackals, hyenas.... you.” ~ Sarah Harding

“Yeah, well, noble was last year. This year I’m getting paid. Hammond’s check cleared, or I wouldn’t be going on this wild goose chase.” ~ Nick Van Owen

“Saddle up! Let’s get this moveable feast underway!” ~ Roland Tembo

“Careful. This suit cost more than your education.” ~Peter Ludlow

 “These creatures require our absence to survive, not our help. And if we could only step aside, and trust in nature, life will find a way.” ~ John Hammond

“Remember that chap about twenty years ago? I forget his name. Climbed Everest without any oxygen, came down nearly dead. When they asked him, they said why did you go up there to die? He said, I didn’t, I went up there to live.” ~ Roland Tembo

“Why don’t people listen to me? I use plain and simple English, I don’t have any accent that I’m aware of...” ~ Ian Malcolm  

“Oh, shut up.” ~ Sarah Harding

After the success of Jurassic Park, it was inevitable that there would be a follow-up. Author Michael Crichton wrote a novel, The Lost World, which would be very loosely adapted in a screenplay by David Koepp, who had co-written the screenplay for the first film. The film follows some of the characters from the original film on a new island where dinosaurs have survived, and features a power struggle between those who wish to protect the animals and those who seek to exploit them.

Four years after the events of the first film, a wealthy family has stopped for a break on the beach on Isla Sorna, off the Costa Rican coast. A young girl wanders off, encountering little dinosaurs that quickly turn on her. The incident allows Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard), the nephew of John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) to take control of InGen, the company that built the ill fated theme park on the nearby Isla Nublar. Hammond has spent the last few years trying to keep Isla Sorna from being exploited; it’s the site where the dinosaurs were nurtured before being moved to the park, and with the events of the previous film, the animals have been left there to roam wild, and are thriving. Hammond calls in Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), whose reputation has been wrecked by whistleblowing the events at InGen, and explains his dilemma. He can only safeguard the island by getting public opinion on his side, and that requires sending a team in to document the animals in their natural environment. Hammond wants Ian on that team, given his previous experience.

One of the team members happens to be Ian’s girlfriend, Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore), a behavioural palaeontologist who’s already gone ahead to the island. Ian is annoyed by the fact that Hammond’s already taken liberties, and is determined to go to the island and bring Sarah back. He meets the other two members of the team, a logistics specialist, Eddie Carr (Richard Schiff) and a videographer, Nick Van Owen (Vince Vaughn). Things are also complicated by the arrival of Ian’s daughter Kelly (Vanessa Lee Chester). The team set out for the island and a rendezvous with Sarah, not knowing they have a stowaway, and unaware that there is another team with a different agenda- collecting dinosaurs and taking them- coming to the island as well.

The story is more of an adventure straight off than the first film. The characters and the audience know there is no illusion of control about this island, that the threat is paramount. The ethical question shifts from what we saw in the first film, as the right of people to tamper with life, to what we see here, the struggle of two different agendas. On the right side of that equation is the need to protect the animals and keep them out of harm’s way. The other side is the greedy disregard for what’s right- the desire to exploit and use the animals no matter the consequence. Hammond, who’s learned lessons the hard way, has gone from venture capitalist to environmentalist, lessons that his nephew doesn’t learn. I like that shift in the ethical side of the film. Aside from moving the narrative along, providing thrills, a measure of horror, and humour along the line, the story also grounds itself in relationship dynamics, and they’re best expressed in the relationships between Hammond and Ludlow, Kelly and Ian, and Sarah and Ian. Those are explored as the film goes along, though in the first case, only indirectly.

The special effects once more make dinosaurs come alive. We get the tyrannosaurus rex, the raptors, and a variety of other dinosaurs that seem to be sharing the screen with the actors as opposed to being a special effect. Full use is made of them, in a variety of ways- I love the way Spielberg sets up the scenes of raptors stalking a group of people running through tall grass- we see glimpses of the predators, their paths through the grass, a flash of their tails as they converge on their prey. And he doesn’t shy away from giving us full view of them either. 

The climax of the movie, with a Rex loose in San Diego, brings both terror and a sense of sly humour to it- and that beast certainly looks like it is alive and stomping around city streets late at night. Spielberg also brings back composer John Williams, who makes spare use of his previous themes and instead infuses dangerous, thrilling sounds into the score, with a hint of the jungle in the music.

The cast again is well chosen. Richard Attenborough appears only briefly as Hammond, who’s learned his lessons the hard way after the previous film. He seeks redemption for his earlier mistakes by safeguarding the island, and his intentions are at least better this time out- though he takes liberties in how he carries them out. Still, the character continues to come across as the kindly old grandfather. 

This is not the case for Arliss Howard as his nephew Peter Ludlow. The executive is a sneering, arrogant man, obnoxious and condescending, thoroughly unlikable and not as bright as he thinks he is. There’s a basic antagonism that he brings out in everyone- even the people working for him. Though the two characters never share a scene, there’s a sense that Ludlow holds his uncle Hammond in contempt. And for all his arrogance and bluster, deep down the character is a spineless excuse for a human being.

Vanessa Lee Chester as the stowaway daughter Kelly has the bulk of her interaction with Goldblum and Moore, filling the place of having a kid in the movie that Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello had in the first film. The relationship Kelly has with her father is somewhat tense- part of that is normal teenager stuff, the roll the eyes at whatever Dad says routine. Part of it is also the dynamic between them- her parents aren’t together, she feels her father doesn’t particularly want to be a dad. It’s a complicated relationship- she doesn’t understand that what’s driving Ian is keeping both her and Sarah safe; he of course has extensive experience with these animals, and knows how dangerous they can be. Actually Ian and Kelly have more in common than she realizes. Richard Schiff is good as the sardonic but capable logistics man Eddie Carr, who seems to have the right equipment for the right occasion, but isn’t really ready for what’s on the island until he sees dinosaurs with his own eyes. The character has a dry sense of humour, and while things end badly for him, he goes out working to save others, which is a nice touch. After this movie, Schiff went on to be one of the core cast members of The West Wing. Vince Vaughn plays the charming and somewhat idealistic Nick, bringing some of his motor-mouth personality to the role; this was an earlier role for him, and while I don’t mind the motor-mouth act in this film, it’s gotten tiresome in the years since as he’s pretty much kept using it. That said, however, Nick’s an interesting character, sarcastic but principled.

Pete Postlethwaite became better known later in his career to international audiences, particularly because of his outstanding work in the 1993 film In The Name Of The Father (far and away the best film of that year). Here he gets a really good role as Roland Tembo (what a name), a big game hunter who leads Ludlow’s team on the island. The character’s a boisterous, tough, and capable leader, a thoroughly dangerous man (one would not want to get into a fight with him). There’s something of a Captain Ahab to the man- he seeks the challenge of hunting a Tyrannosaurus Rex- and yet he can pull back from that hunt and let it go- a vital difference from Ahab. Where he ends up is a different place, personality wise, than where we first meet him. While he might work for the opposing side, he’s not unsympathetic, and we get to like him more as the film goes along. The character’s a force of nature, and Postlethwaite seems to be having a ball playing him.

Julianne Moore’s one of those actresses who could read the phone book and make it fascinating- she’s just that compelling and interesting in what she does. She’s resourceful, curious, and smart- and perhaps not wary enough of the dangers of the island until things go wrong. We believe her as an expert in the field- she seems entirely comfortable in her surroundings and carries herself with authority as you’d expect out of an experienced palaeontologist. Sarah’s relationship with Ian also feels real. The two have their disagreements, but have a lot of history, too, and for the most part seem to get along. Sarah’s touched that Ian’s come to rescue her, but adds that it would help if he did so on occasions when she could really use the help- such as a dinner with parents he missed. They’re not a perfect couple (who is?), but they seem grounded and real, and Moore plays to that, adding a sense of spirit and strength to her role.

Jeff Goldblum is fun once again as Ian Malcolm. He’s more cynical when we first meet him- having one’s academic career dismantled will do that. Having lived through the experience on the other island, he’s also the one character who understands the dangers the animals present. Try as he might to warn everyone around him, they don’t listen- until it’s too late. His motives are more personal this time out as well. While his ethical world view remains the same, his driving motivation is the safety of the woman he loves, and the daughter who thinks he doesn’t understand her. He might not go about how he deals with both in the right way, saying the wrong things at times, but we get what drives him, because like him, we know where this is going to end up- with lots of bloodshed and dinosaurs ripping people in half.

The Lost World was a fitting follow-up to Jurassic Park. Given that we already had the awe and majesty of the first film (before the chaos started), this film goes pretty much for the chaos, particularly in its second and third acts. It has a terrific cast, a good sense of humour, an adventurous spirit, and a fine way of driving up the tension.