Paul Schrader

 

 

Hardcore (1979) – 3 stars

American Gigolo (1980) – 3 stars

Cat People (1982) – 2 ½ stars

Light Sleeper (1992) – 3 ½ stars

Auto Focus (2002) – 3 stars

This week, I watched 5 Paul Schrader films (so you don’t have to?).  I suppose my (half-hearted) mission was to see whether the acclaimed Taxi Driver (1976) screenwriter could be considered an auteur or not.  He’s certainly directed a lot of films, between Blue Collar (1978) which is actually really good (with Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, and Yaphet Kotto – reviewed on my blog) and his most recent release Oh Canada (2024), which I haven’t seen. Mishima (1985) and First Reformed (2017) are also recommended, as is Affliction (1997) which I haven’t rewatched since then.  The above list makes it seem that Schrader is consistently releasing solid work across many decades but alas my snapshot of films across 3 decades suggests it is not true.  

Hardcore (1979) his second film finds George C. Scott heading from Michigan to L. A. to find his daughter who has apparently run away to make porno films. This gritty shot-on-location is typically described as reflecting Schrader’s upbringing in a puritanical Dutch Calvinist church community, with Scott portraying the judgmental scornful Christian that Schrader was socialised to be. The film doesn’t hold back from the sleaze and seems to want to show some affection toward some of its lost characters but is instead seems to pity them, even while displaying a voyeuristic tendency that might actually be one of Schrader’s auteur trademarks if we grant him that status.  

The next film moves from gritty (Blue Collar and Hardcore) straight into sleek and stylish with Richard Gere on display as the titular American Gigolo (1980) and Giorgio Moroder’s electronic variations on Blondie’s “Call Me” (which he cowrote) pulsing on the soundtrack.  Gere is Schrader’s existential loner -- and this is the first film in his “Lonely Man” trilogy, where he takes inspiration from Bresson’s Pickpocket (1959).  Schrader wrote a classic book about Transcendental Film that focused on Bresson, Ozu, and Dreyer.  But try as I might, I just couldn’t see this film as transcendental.  Gere forms a bond with a senator’s wife (Lauren Hutton) from whom he accepts no money and she is his only solace when he is framed for a murder, possibly by his pimp.  It isn’t bad but it isn’t good (Hector Elizondo is interesting as the homicide detective, even if the rest of the acting is boring). 

Up next: Cat People (1982), inspired by the 1942 Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur classic but by no means a remake.  Natassja Kinski and Malcolm McDowell are literally descendents of half-cat, half human ancient entities who transform into animals if they have sex with anyone outside of their species and must kill in order to return to human form.  Despite Kinski prowling around naked, the film is nearly stultifying, even if John Heard gives it his best shot as a New Orleans zookeeper. Is anybody lonely? Maybe, since they are estranged from their species.  Moroder hardly uses Bowie’s theme music at all.  Did I mention these two films were produced by Jerry Bruckheimer? Enough said.  

Fast forward 10 years to Light Sleeper (1992) starring Willem Dafoe as another lonely man, this time a drug dealer working for Susan Sarandon.  He’s finally gotten clean and thinking about his future since Sarandon wants to get out of the business.  A run in with an ex-lover throws him out-of-sorts.  This film is a step up from the others but often feels artificial – is it a thriller, is it arthouse, it isn’t sure.  Dafoe carries it with his artistry (and we get another jailhouse scene from Pickpocket to boot). 

Dafoe does appear in a few Schrader films throughout the years and he also brings his talent to Auto Focus (2002) which returns us to a very sleazy world in this biopic of Bob Crane from Hogan’s Heroes (played by Greg Kinnear).  Crane’s interest in perving was aided and abetted by electronics expert John Carpenter (Dafoe) who introduced him to videocameras, VCRs, homemade pornography and swinging.  Crane himself doesn’t feel like one of Schrader’s lonely men but there must be a void he’s trying to fill with all this smut.  It’s a true story and Crane was murdered, probably by Carpenter.  Dafoe keeps it creepy and Schrader is back to his judgmental/voyeuristic push-pull act.  You kind of can’t look away.  

So, where does this leave us?  If I fold in half-formed memories of First Reformed, Affliction, Mishima, and newer films like the Card Counter (2021), it sort of does feel that Schrader should be granted auteur status.  However, the problem is likely that he isn’t a very good or consistent director or is too much subjected to the commercial needs of his producers (or his own poor instincts).  The themes may be there but too many of the films are average or worse.  Still, he does manage to find more acorns than a blind squirrel might.

 

Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)

 ☆ ☆ ☆

Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) – G. Lucas

I am pretty sure I fell asleep when watching this a couple of decades ago but there was no chance of that this time, as the kids howled and booed whenever a romantic scene (between Natalie Portman’s Senator Amidala and Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker) came on. In truth, these did slow the movie down. Aside from this, I still found it difficult to get my mind around the unfolding transition between the Republic, with the Jedi as its police force, and the evil Empire, now composed of the Trade Federation and a growing number of Separatist planets – led by Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku (really a stand-in for Darth Sidious who I think we can agree is also Chancellor Palpatine and later the Emperor). We were stunned when Jar Jar Binks entered a motion to allow the Chancellor to have unprecedented authoritarian powers – what a moron!  As for the Jedi, Ewan McGregor tries his best as Obi-Wan (left to keep the action going in scenes that alternate with the romance plot), Samuel L. Jackson still has nothing to do as Windu – or at least nothing that capitalises on his usual bad-ass charms, and Yoda is left to get the audience back on board (would have loved to hear a Christopher Lee commentary on that final battle – surely he was bemused to see this turn in his career). Now who ordered the army of clones and whether Yoda commandeered them for the big battle remain obscure for us. Not sure what to make of his suggestion that the Clone Wars have begun (did we need to do some background reading?). Boba Fett’s origin story is pretty confusing too.  At any rate, we are expecting that all will be resolved in Episode III, which has to be better than this, right?

Spellbound (2002)

☆ ☆ ☆

Spellbound (2002) -- J. Blitz

Enjoyable doco...but I wanted more sociological inquiry and insights. A few choice looks at parental influence on kids but a chance to really use the spelling bee to explore diversity in the USA was squandered. (2008 review)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Lord of the Rings:  The Two Towers (2002) -- P. Jackson

Once started, I felt compelled to finish the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but with each film around 3 hours long, I'll admit it was a bit of a hard slog. I don't remember the books being non-stop battle, but perhaps Peter Jackson found it more enjoyable to film these orcs vs. men scenes, full of computer generated (and algorithmically controlled) characters. This gets a bit boring. However, some of the fantastical characters dreamt up by Tolkien, such as the Ents (or tree-herders), are still wondrous. The arc of the story and some of the dialogue seems vaguely Shakespearean at times, but these moments are too few and far between. (2008 review).

Morvern Callar (2002)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Morvern Callar (2002) – L. Ramsay

Lynne Ramsay’s second feature (after Ratcatcher) stars Samantha Morton as a young woman (Morvern Callar) whose life is disrupted by the suicide of her boyfriend.  She’s not particularly eloquent and she doesn’t share her thoughts or feelings with others – she just soldiers on, determined to enjoy herself (or so it seems).  This involves pubs, clubs, and parties and a trip to Spain with her best friend Lanna (Kathleen McDermott), with a farewell mixtape from her partner on the soundtrack (Can, Stereolab, Broadcast, Lee Hazelwood, etc.).  At times things feel a bit druggy.  I suppose some suspense is built because a) she doesn’t tell anyone about the suicide and sort of covers it up; and b) she submits a novel that she didn’t write to a publisher. (Is this a betrayal of the boyfriend who betrayed her?).  But suspense is probably besides the point because actually this is one of those new minimalist films (e.g., Kelly Reichardt, Harmony Korine, Jim Jarmusch) that observes its characters but doesn’t care too much about plot. It looks and sounds great though, if you get on its emotional wavelength (which could be hard given Morvern’s reticence).  I am not sure it all adds up to much (other than an opaque character study) but I’m also not sure that that matters. There are other pleasures here.

Gangs of New York (2002)

☆ ☆ ☆

Gangs of New York (2002) – M. Scorsese

Over-ripe.  I don’t want to be too tough on Martin Scorsese but he seems to have thrown everything he had at this film with the hope that it would dazzle.  There are numerous tracking shots through very expensive sets (1860s New York City recreated at Cinecitta in Rome), there are brand name actors (Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day Lewis, Cameron Diaz), there are well-known character actors (Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Neeson, even David Hemmings), there is music by Howard Shore (and U2 over the end credits), there is cinematography by Michael Ballhaus (who worked with Fassbinder), and there is the editing by Thelma Schoonmaker (as usual) and there is the astounding production design by Dante Ferretti.  And yet, and yet, it is over-ripe and probably over-long.  Sure, there is a lot of money being splashed about and it shows:  the film looks gorgeous and the various stylistic flairs are commendable.  However, there may just be too much of everything.  The story that sees DiCaprio leaving the juvenile prison to revenge the death of his father (Neeson) at the hands of Bill the Butcher (Day Lewis), the crime lord of Five Points, feels flat. Perhaps it is Leonardo’s delivery (in voice-over narration) or his too-earnest acting that deadens things?  Cameron Diaz feels somehow miscast as a pickpocket love interest – has she been in a period film before?  Of course, Day Lewis commands the screen and all of the supporting cast are great.  So, it may just be the palpable effort being put into everything, the preponderance of slow-motion, rock’em-sock’em, battles to a grungy beat that feel rather cringe-worthy (and/or immediately dated), adding to the over-the-toppishness of it all, with Scorsese (and the Weinsteins) yearning to be appreciated for their impressiveness.  In the end, it’s a curio.