Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 261: A Southern Gene

Continuing the theme of looking back at what the stars of the 1970s nominees were doing in the next decade, we come to the work of Gene Hackman. The star of two of my favourite 1970s nominees, The French Connection and The Conversation, Hackman only featured in one nominee in the 1980s. That film was Mississippi Burning, in which Hackman starred as FBI Agent Rupert Anderson who returned to his home state of Mississippi in order to solve the case of two missing civil rights workers. The film, set in 1964, centres around the rural community of Jessop County who don't take too kindly to two outsiders interfering in their business. At the time, segregation was rife and even staff in the sheriff's department are members of the Klu Klux Klan. The black members of the community are often at risk of having their churches set on fire or to find flaming crosses on their lawns. Anderson's superior Agent on the case is the much younger Alan Ward, a college-educated liberal who isn't as worldly wise as his new partner. Indeed, Anderson knows the area well and is able to get more information by popping into the local beauty parlour than Ward does when he formally questions a number of suspects. Feeling he's getting nowhere, Ward calls for more agents to descend on the area, followed soon by the press and members of the army. Eventually, a war of words breaks out between the locals and the agents, with the black members of the town caught in the middle. Ward and Anderson are later convinced that Deputy Pell had something to do with the death of the men and question his wife about her flimsy alibi. When Anderson appeals to Mrs Pell's better nature, he sets in course a chain of events which change the area forever.

In his other nominated film Midnight Express, director Alan Parker manipulated certain events of a true story in order to create a more compelling film. He did this again with Mississippi Burning, in which he fictionalised the investigation into the civil rights worker's disappearance to create a gripping narrative. I was quite enthralled throughout most of Mississippi Burning, which took the form of a standard police procedural albeit it one that dealt with deeper themes. Peter Biziou's Oscar-winning cinematography really encapsulates the mood of the time as he able to get the audience to experience the hatred felt between both sides of the community. His shots of the attacks on the churches were particularly exceptional and provided some harrowing imagery throughout the film. Just like in Midnight Express, the haunting score makes you feel uneasy at times, though this film was nowhere near as gritty as the Turkish prison epic. The disparate nature of the two agents is what's at the heart of the film and their both given life by two fantastic actors. As Ward, Willem Dafoe gives quite a methodical performance as the educated man forced to deal with customs that he sees as backwards. However, this is really Hackman's film and he delivers another outstanding turn as the agent raised in a similar community who is forced to return to the hatred that he thought he'd left behind. Hackman portrays Anderson as somebody who understands the people, but also disagrees with them and his mixture of humour and violence is an unsettling combination. Hackman was Oscar-nominated for his role here as was Frances McDormand as the timid Mrs Pell who later gets her chance at a new life. The one real problem I had with Mississippi Burning was that I found it to be a little bit too one-sided at times as in all of the white members of the community were shocking racists and all of the black civilians were victims. Whilst I feel that this is probably close to the truth, it does make both sides come off as caricatures at times. Luckily, Anderson and Ward feel like real people and this contributes to an incredibly satisfying, if harrowing film about the many forms that prejudice comes in.

Next time another previous winner offers us another film in which he writes, directs and stars.

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 240: Banged Up Abroad

So far during this 1970s portion of the Oscar Challenge, a lot of films have felt that they dwell on quite bleak subjects. A case in point is 1979 nominee Midnight Express which was adapted from the book by Billy Hayes by a young Oliver Stone, who went on to win an Oscar for the film's screenplay. The story involves Hayes' arrest in Turkey for possession of two hasish blocks and his eventual incarceration for the crime. Along the way Billy is promised to stay in the prison for only a few years before his case is overturned and he is forced to stay in the prison for at least thirty years. Director Alan Parker presents the prison as a harsh and desolate place where even children are beaten on a daily basis. The Turkish guards essentially come off as sadistic and have no compassion for those who have been locked up. Billy is initially kept sane thanks to his friendship with a number of Western prisoners namely heroin addict Max and loudmouth American Jimmy. As time passes, the group attempt to escape but are gradually worn down by the brutal regime that is enforced within the prison. Eventually Billy loses his sanity and is only revived by a visit from his girlfriend who pleads with him to escape the confines of the institution before he loses himself completely. The final scenes of the film that play out apparently have little to do with what actually happened to Hayes himself, and that has definitely been a bone of contention ever since.

Despite this being an excellently directed Alan Parker film, to me Midnight Express has all the hallmarks of a Stone movie. The incredibly graphic scenes of violence and sexual activity coupled with a sense of despair would be go-to storytelling devices for Stone in his later films. Indeed, after reading the disparity between the film and Hayes' actual journey, it appears as if Stone had to liven up the ending to the story as what really happened was fairly dull. I have to say, at certain points, the film was pretty heavy-going especially in the latter scenes of the film. Thankfully there were several elements of the movie that worked quite well namely the set pieces, which provided the films major highlights. The opening scene in particular, from Billy's strapping the drugs to his chest to his eventual arrest, was well-orchestrated and vividly filmed. Despite being heavily fictionalised, the scenes in the prison's mental wing were similarly well-written and completely harrowing. The film was also boosted by an excellent and stark score courtesy of Oscar winner Giorgio Moroder which really complemented the awkward nature of the plot. I was personally surprised that Brad Davis didn't receive a nomination for Best Actor as he perfectly anchored the film as Billy Hayes. In fact the only acting nod the film garnered was in the Supporting Actor category as John Hurt was nominated for his turn as the drug addict Max. Hurt's scenes were indeed memorable, but I personally wanted to see more of him and especially his cat. Ultimately, I don't think you can really enjoy a film like Midnight Express but you can certainly admire it, as I did, for its bleak narrative and stark visuals.

Next time we leave the hate behind and concentrate on the love.