Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Movie Monday: Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Cheri (2009)
I'm reading more and more about the mess the Democrats are in as they face the mid-term Congressional elections. To put the blame on one man is really silly in a representative government but it is in keeping with Truman's desk sign of "The Buck Stops Here." I think I'd trace to origin of the problem to Obama's refusal to understand from the get-go that in a poisonous political climate (which we have now and have had plenty of times in U.S. history) you take no prisoners. Now, bullies understand this all the time as witnessed in the the antics of our NJ Gov. Unfortunately, reasoned, intelligent people see the world as it really is, a "darkling plain" we all share, and try to act rationally and inclusive. It looks like, once again, it ain't going to work.
But I did see two movies in the last week which are separated by almost 50 years: Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Cheri (2009.) SITG has been on TV so many times but amazingly, I only saw it last week. And, it is very, very good. I really don't like movies from the 1960s and 1970s, though I guess you could rattle off a boatload of classics from those decades. I just think that movies from that time were more to be seen than felt, admired not empathized with.
But reaching back almost 50 years, I felt the agony of Wilma's (Natalie Wood)despair when teenage lust (probably hardwired in all of us for the propagation of the species) ran into the wall of the "good girl" model of the times. That one scene (probably played out so, so many times in teen girls' fantasy ) where Wilma walks with Bud (Warren Beatty) through the halls of the school as lower middle-class, pretty girl and super rich, handsome jock. Wood captures the joy (I'm with him!) and the confusion (Why does he like me?) perfectly.
Neither Wilma nor Bud get what they want in life and both must live with the regrets and move on. Wilma pays a severe, immediate consequence but it is Bud who must endure a more permanent "fall from grace."
Go see this movie and then take a look at modern day angst-filled teen love movies. It's worth the comparison.
And also, there is Cheri. First, what a brave actress Michelle Pfeiffer is. She is a physically beautiful actress who could easily look much younger than her 50+ years, but she plays the older woman in Cheri and in the last scenes, she allows the camera to portray that age starkly. Second, Rupert Friend. I like Rupert Friend. I consider him an Orlando Bloom who can act. I liked him as Albert in The Young Victoria and was pleasantly surprised to read that he was Ludovic in Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. He plays a young, pampered, kept young man in Cheri with a believable emotional depth the role must have.
The plot of Cheri? When I read about modern day "cougar" romance, I want to gag. Old women and young men. Ewwww! (I feel probably more strongly about young women and old men.) I get the lust; I just haven't figured out the frame of reference for conversations. (OK, I'm naive; you say, What conversation?)
I mention this because I came upon Cheri as just a sexual romp between an experienced courtesan and the 19-year old son of another courtesan; a relationship which lasts 6 years. I've heard of these affairs before; classic lit is full of them But at the end of Cheri, at the bitter end when they, like Wood and Beatty in SITG, must part, I really did understand that the societal view on age can be transcended by love. As the narrator says: Lea was born too soon.
Take a look at both these movies. Separated by almost 50 years; acted so well; both telling similar stories; I don't think you'll be disappointed.
But I did see two movies in the last week which are separated by almost 50 years: Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Cheri (2009.) SITG has been on TV so many times but amazingly, I only saw it last week. And, it is very, very good. I really don't like movies from the 1960s and 1970s, though I guess you could rattle off a boatload of classics from those decades. I just think that movies from that time were more to be seen than felt, admired not empathized with.
But reaching back almost 50 years, I felt the agony of Wilma's (Natalie Wood)despair when teenage lust (probably hardwired in all of us for the propagation of the species) ran into the wall of the "good girl" model of the times. That one scene (probably played out so, so many times in teen girls' fantasy ) where Wilma walks with Bud (Warren Beatty) through the halls of the school as lower middle-class, pretty girl and super rich, handsome jock. Wood captures the joy (I'm with him!) and the confusion (Why does he like me?) perfectly.
Neither Wilma nor Bud get what they want in life and both must live with the regrets and move on. Wilma pays a severe, immediate consequence but it is Bud who must endure a more permanent "fall from grace."
Go see this movie and then take a look at modern day angst-filled teen love movies. It's worth the comparison.
And also, there is Cheri. First, what a brave actress Michelle Pfeiffer is. She is a physically beautiful actress who could easily look much younger than her 50+ years, but she plays the older woman in Cheri and in the last scenes, she allows the camera to portray that age starkly. Second, Rupert Friend. I like Rupert Friend. I consider him an Orlando Bloom who can act. I liked him as Albert in The Young Victoria and was pleasantly surprised to read that he was Ludovic in Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. He plays a young, pampered, kept young man in Cheri with a believable emotional depth the role must have.
The plot of Cheri? When I read about modern day "cougar" romance, I want to gag. Old women and young men. Ewwww! (I feel probably more strongly about young women and old men.) I get the lust; I just haven't figured out the frame of reference for conversations. (OK, I'm naive; you say, What conversation?)
I mention this because I came upon Cheri as just a sexual romp between an experienced courtesan and the 19-year old son of another courtesan; a relationship which lasts 6 years. I've heard of these affairs before; classic lit is full of them But at the end of Cheri, at the bitter end when they, like Wood and Beatty in SITG, must part, I really did understand that the societal view on age can be transcended by love. As the narrator says: Lea was born too soon.
Take a look at both these movies. Separated by almost 50 years; acted so well; both telling similar stories; I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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