Category: Uncategorized

Weathering the storm

Maybe one silver lining to this crisis is that we’ll finally appreciate the value of true leadership: It’s a lot more than cruel words disguised as “straight talk”. The mark of a good leader shouldn’t be gauged by the strength of the stock market. Maybe we’ll stop equating kindness with weakness and dismissing uncomfortable truths as “fake news”. It’s precisely at times like these when we realize how essential to true leadership are moral courage, inner strength and kindness. You can’t be a true leader — hell, you can’t be a true grown up!– if you’re not willing to get real with yourself and acknowledge the ugly stuff you’d rather not face. In the absence of true leadership, we’ll have to find those qualities within ourselves and nurture them as much as possible. So, if you’re stressed, find a way to self-soothe. It that means praying, by all means, pray. If you need a walk in the park, it’s possible to do so and still practice social distancing. If you get grounded by dancing in your underwear, Risky Business style, indulge — (just tape the camera on your laptop). Paint or sing or journal. Find the discipline to fight your fears as they pop up. And when you’re feeling strong, reach out to others. Write or email or FaceTime them.

Be well and take good care.

“Johnny Guitar” – The Power of Pacing

This weekend I watched Johnny Guitar for the first time since I was in film school. What struck me immediately was the pacing. From the moment Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) walks into Vienna’s (Joan Crawford), I was mesmerized. Director Nicholas Ray knows how to use silence masterfully. There’s no music or dialogue, yet there’s already tension in the air, as Johnny looks around the empty place and makes eye contact with Vienna’s three employees. He’s a stranger and clearly they’re on edge.

The effect is mesmerizing, and is compounded when Emma (Mercedes McCambridge) enters a few minutes later accompanied by the Sheriff (Frank Ferguson) and about a dozen men who will later form her posse. Emma and her men are looking for the Dancing Kid (Scott Brady) and his men, who they accuse of robbing a stagecoach. But the real tension is generated between these two powerful women, their mutual hatred and their sublimated sexual attraction.

Ray understands the power of this psychological premise and lets the story unfold on its own pace. He doesn’t overload the plot. There are no unnecessary surprise twists. The audience knows the women are in the grip of powerful emotional forces which will lead to a violent climax and we watch, almost as if caught by the tide ourselves. It’s a perfect example of a director trusting the material. If you have a powerful conflict, you don’t need pyrotechnics or plot twists get in the way; if anything, you can let the story unfurl at its own pace. The effect is hypnotic and emotionally satisfying.

Lost Gem: Carol Reed’s “Odd Man Out”

Carol Reed’s “Odd Man Out” is an example of a movie that might not be as well-known as his other two works, “The Third Man” or “Fallen Idol,” but that deserves to be watched and studied for the unique approach that Reed takes to the genre of psychological thriller.

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Anti-heroes

I realize that I sound like a grandma for writing this, but recently I realized that, as great as the new TV series are, binge-watching them is making me feel beat-up. Maybe it’s because I’ve had a tough Fall –by which I mean September through October, not that I’ve fallen–, but I can’t watch another show about a serial killer or a tortured detective. Even shows in which nothing violent happens are often written in such a way as to be emotionally disturbing. I binge-watched Transparent over the weekend and while I think it’s truly terrific, I also feel… soiled and tired. Watching people behave horribly and selfishly toward others might be part of being human. It’s reality, I know. But it can also be completely disheartening. Or am I too sensitive?

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