How to Ruin a Perfect Movie

Barbara Nicolosi and I went to see The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford tonight. It is only playing in L.A., New York, Toronto and Austin -- one of those times when it's good to live in L.A., even though I spent about 3 hours today crawling along Sunset Blvd.

For a long time, it was a perfect movie. I'd say it was the best movie I've seen in a long time, but these days, that's not necessarily much of a claim. It was fresh and nuanced and complex and the writer/director/somebody was obviously working from a credo. The cinematography was breathtaking. Absolutely everything I love in a movie. But then, in a nanosecond, it completely lost its mind.

Suddenly, there on the screen was James Carville. Yes, that James Carville. In a cameo appearance. Acting. Badly. Which is fine, because he's not an actor, why should he be able to act? The acting in the movie is flawless, though, so when the guy speaking suddenly has all the charm and animation of a refrigerator, it brings the film to a screeching halt. But it wouldn't matter if he were Lawrence Olivier, because the point is, he's James Carville. As in nuke the fourth wall. Take the audience completely out of the mood you've spent an hour and a half (and millions of dollars) to create, and have them suddenly all start whispering to each other, "James Carville???"

It was just wrong as many ways as a thing can be wrong.

I would do a full rant, but it's late. (The movie also needs to have at least twenty minutes cut out of it.) I am sure that Barbara Nicolosi will tell you all about it soon.

Comments

[Lickona]

Well, it ain't his first time. Usually, of course, he's playing himself. But in The People vs. Larry Flynt, he played a caricature of his own opposite, a move which caught the film's smug, blinkered tone pretty well.

[Karen]

But I'm sure you'll agree, this movie is not "People vs. Larry Flynt."

[Lickona]

Oh, certainly. That was a bit of agitprop. This is supposed to be something much, much more. Imagine my dismay last Friday when I found that it had such a limited release. Good thing 3:10 to Yuma was as good as it was (the silly dash at the end notwithstanding). In Flynt, Carville just had to act well enough to mock the people he loathed. Not exactly a stretch.

[mary martha]

As to the 'somebody' who is obviously working from a credo...

The novel that the movie is based on was written by a Catholic Deacon. http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=25475

A quote from that article that you may like... "Deacon Hansen cited the influence of the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola on his storytelling. "One of the exercises is you are who you follow – Christ or the evil one?" he said."

It's no wonder you liked the movie. I think I am going to read the book first but I am looking forward to both. (though maybe I will go buy popcorn when James Carville is on screen.

[karen]

Indeed. It should not have taken me so long to say Ron Hansen!