Video Review |
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Video Review |
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Last Updated 12/04/01
Email: robitai@our-town.com
Pollock
You don't have to be interested in modern art, or even like it,
to appreciate the movie "Pollock" about Jackson Pollock's tormented life. As is the case with many biographical movies, the
basis for this one springs from a written biography. Steven Naifeh and Gregory White
Smith's well-received biography Jackson Pollock: An American Saga ushered in a new
era of attention to Pollock the artist. The
movie continues it.
Art
historians describe Pollock as one of the most publicized and celebrated American artists
of the Twentieth Century. He impacted the
international modern art scene, and his career was both intense and dramatic. Pollock was born in Wyoming in 1912, but he was in
his early 30's and living in New York City when his work first began to attract attention.
In 1943, art collector and gallery owner Peggy Guggenheim
commissioned Pollock to paint a mural for her Manhattan apartment. Plunged into the international spotlight, Pollock
beckoned photographers and camera crews to his studio.
The attention to his technique, which involved placing the canvas on the
floor and flinging the paint, created a style deliberately new and uniquely Pollock.
Ed Harris directed the film and stars in the lead. It's clear that Harris
understands artistic angst because he never oversimplifies Pollock's love affair with fame
and the painterly process. Pollock's contentious personality never opens itself to
analysis; all the pieces come in fits and starts. Harris
gives us glimpses into Pollock's psyche, playing the peaks and valleys in an introverted
haze that makes Pollock's desire to be famous all the more conflicted. Battling an array
of demons, Pollock searches for meaning in a bottle of gin. Harris confronts the role with
authority and spirit, integrating Pollock's lunacies into the ordinary details of living a
life.
Also of note is Marcia Gay Harden's portrayal of Lee Krasner, Pollock's dedicated
wife. An artist of merit on her own, Krasner dedicated her life to promoting Pollock's
work. In this Academy Award winning
performance, Harden plays Krasner as a force to be reckoned with. It's Krasner who cajoles Pollock into working,
who moves him to the Long Island studio away from city temptations, and who negotiates the
terms of his gallery contracts. Harden hides
nothing, creating a character with a clear sense of purpose and well-defined motives.
Don't expect Pollock's life to be a pretty picture; it's not. Don't expect to be an
authority on modern art at the movie's end; you won't be. Just contemplate artistic
temperament and be grateful if you lead a life more ordinary.
Available in DVD and video
Rated R for language and brief
sexuality
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