PHOTO © 1996 WARNER BROS. BY BRIAN
HAMILL
Jason Patric (left) and Brad Pitt star
in Sleepers, which focuses on the painful
memories of some men who grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen
during the 1960's.
SLEEPERS
(A-4, R): Thorny issues are in this all-star production by Barry
Levinson (Rain Man, Bugsy). This is an atrocity-elicits-revenge
story, based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's best-seller. (Claims to be
factual have been widely challenged.) It's set in the 1960's in
New York's Hell's Kitchen, where four boys are sent to the state
reformatory when a petty-theft prank goes awry.
In prison, the kids are sadistically
abused by the guards. (Levinson, to his credit, uses every conceivable
film technique to imply, rather than show, the horror.) Years
later, two of the boys, now adult hoodlums, come across the evil
head guard (Kevin Bacon in his most corrupt mode) in a bar and
calmly shoot him to death. Like A Time to Kill, Sleepers
argues that sometimes murder is O.K., if there is no other way
to achieve justice.
The tightly knit community of blue-collar
white ethnics unites behind the killers and schemes to get them
off. A godfather-type (Vittorio Gassman) intimidates witnesses
and hires a star lawyer (Dustin Hoffman) for the defense by threatening
him. One of the four friends (Brad Pitt), now a city prosecutor,
takes the case and sabotages it. But as the narrator (Jason Patric)
explains, an alibi witness is still needed. Father Bobby (Robert
De Niro), a lifetime friend with a reputation for integrity, is
asked to do it. He agonizes over his decision, but his
perjury and all the corruption of the legal system really achieve
no good. Obviously, Levinson and Carcaterra think he's a hero.
The four friends never really escape
the scars of their terrifying ordeal. The scales are even but
their bad dreams continue. Viewers can also judge Sleepers
on their own. Movies used to support devotion to law under all
kinds of pressure but now they're starting to make exceptions.
The courts have probably earned some criticism, but making a case
for something as anciently stupid as revenge is truly amoral and
dangerous. Ultimate abuse-excuse drama, while artful, misses
its best chances; heavy and grim stuff; for mature audiences.
BIG NIGHT
(A-3, R) is also ethnic, but much more benign and relevant to
common experience. Set in a New Jersey seacoast town in the 1950's,
it's about two Italian immigrant brothers, Primo and Secondo (Tony
Shalhoub, Stanley Tucci), struggling to make a success of their
restaurant. A not-so-friendly competitor (Ian Holm) promises to
bring a celebrity for a big meal on which the brothers blow everything.
The real story is the touching relationship between Primo, an Old Country culinary artist and perfectionist,
and Secondo, an already Americanized businessman-pragmatist. The highlight is the banquet, which celebrates
food and life, doing for Italian cuisine what Babette's Feast
does for French.
The film is largely a labor of love
by Tucci, also cowriter, coproducer, codirector. He's anxious to break Italian movie stereotypes. The
restaurant is called the Paradise, reminding us that good food
with good friends is at the center of all human community, and
everything else is just background. Funny and warm; some adult
sex situations; recommended for mature audiences.
THAT THING YOU DO!
(A-2, PG) is a cheery but tongue-in-cheek take on the early 1960's
era of rock and roll. It chronicles the brief success of a provincial
band that rides one big hit song up the charts to Hollywood (in
the "beach movie" era) and national fame. The cycle
is classic in movie musicals: early euphoria, escalating money
and conflict, old friendships now in danger, gold-digging temptresses,
selling out to commercial pressures, disillusion and return to
roots.
It all adds up to a morality tale:
Be careful what you wish for--you may get it. The era, the music-biz
equivalent of Leave It to Beaver time, is basically spoofed
but with some nostalgic warmth. And the young performers (especially
Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler and Johnathon Schaech) show considerable
charm.
Thing
is Tom Hanks's first effort as writer-director. It's slick, knowledgeable
and slyly funny, in the Hanks manner. Hanks also writes some of
the bouncy all-new music and plays a key supporting role as a
cool, quietly cynical record-company rep. Overall, a graceful entertainment, reflecting more
innocent times, with some satirical bite. Satisfactory for
youth and adults.
EXTREME MEASURES
(A-3, R) is a cut above the average thriller. Its "mad scientist"
plot--a reputable researcher (Gene Hackman) collects homeless derelicts
in Manhattan for spinal cord experiments--is only a cover for exploring
very relevant issues in medical ethics.
Hugh Grant plays the idealistic E.R.
doc who stumbles onto the conspiracy and pursues it to personal
ruin. Even the bad guys are morally motivated (to save paralyzed
loved ones). Just as a suspense potboiler, this Michael Apted-directed
movie is often eerie and unnerving. In a memorable sequence, Grant
follows a guide into the city's bowels to locate the homeless
who inhabit the damp darkness. It's deja-Dante all over again.
Usual genre violence but much to chew on; satisfactory for
adults.
GENESIS: A LIVING CONVERSATION
(PBS, Wednesdays): This is another freewheeling discussion series
from Bill Moyers on God and morality, as seen from many religious
and philosophical perspectives. Genesis focuses on the
stories in the first book of the Old Testament with wit and vigor.
Moyers thinks this is fun to do in real life, so why not on television?
(The 10-week series continues through December.)
The opening episode, with novelists
of varied gender, age and background analyzing the implications
of the Cain and Abel narrative, was typically lively. Actor Mandy
Patinkin read the story (in paraphrase) and the relaxed group
(John Barth, Mary Gordon, Oscar Hijuelos and others) genially
roared off in many interpretive directions.
It made you wonder if you'd ever really
read this story, in which God prefers Abel's sacrifice to Cain's.
Cain murders his brother out of jealousy and asks his famous question
about being his brother's keeper. Then he is both banished by
God and protected from human vengeance before going on ("east
of Eden") to found a city famed for its art and creativity.
For some, the range of comment and
expertise is more confusing and depressing than enlightening.
(Throughout the series, fundamentalist sensitivities are gingerly
handled.) But this is meant to be a discussion, an exploration--not
the final word.
For the Abels of this world, Mary
Gordon says the moral of the story is to witness. Only God has
the right to punish, says Rabbi Burton Visotzky, who is certainly
thinking of revenge and probably capital punishment. Cain is the
most interesting character, the one most like us, says Charles
Johnson.
"When God says 'stop' to the cycle
of violence," says Gordon, "it's a great mystery...the
moment I love most." Well, it's hard not to love any moment
in which gifted people--even some without credentials, and some
I don't especially admire--discuss the eternal puzzlements with
passion. Moyers has perhaps done more to bring religious culture
to television than anyone else, and his productions have also
brought us back to the beautiful flexibility of the word (in the
sense of language). His shows sometimes wander off into fog and
mist but Genesis is not one of them. Highly recommended
for viewers hungry for ideas.
THE TIES THAT BIND:
This new one-hour Maryknoll documentary, which aired on the Odyssey
(formerly Faith and Values) channel before Thanksgiving, provides
some perspective on the current controversies over immigration.
Its primary impact is in images. It
contrasts Mexican migrants and their dreams and values with the
harsh treatment and "scapegoating" on this side of the
border. (The recent beatings by deputies in California of illegals
fleeing from a truck provide vivid footage.) But much information
and persuasion are part of the package. Examples include the argument
that Mexican workers already subsidize the cheap prices at U.S.
department stores, the exposure of conditions at the border factories,
the values (hard work, family, religion) shared in both countries.
The film reflects the thinking of the
U.S. bishops and suggests that Americans need to do more hard
thinking before closing their minds on this issue. The video ($23,
English or Spanish, from Maryknoll, 800-227-8523) is ideal for
a group-discussion starter.
RELATIVITY
(ABC, Saturdays): As tourists in Rome, blue-collar Leo (David
Conrad) and suburban Isabel (Kimberly Williams) meet and, hormones
raging, fall in love. Then they come back to Los Angeles and discover
how (and if) this flies with their friends and relatives, including
her fiancé. Relativity is romance vs. reality, what
happens after a couple decides, well, they're a couple. That's
when most love stories end.
This idea is what attracted me to
the show, along with the track record of
honchos Edward Zwick and Marshall
Herskovitz (thirtysomething, My So-Called Life).
It does do some things right, mostly by suggesting how close-knit
most families are (dysfunctional ones perhaps especially), and
how every vibration affects the others and the whole. Only the
highest-level fiction ever honestly gets into this.
Relativity
is a rare TV genre, a continuing romantic comedy. There are laughs
(the kids break their news to their own relatives, then face the
terror of the other families) and tears (a touching one-year memorial
service for Leo's much-loved mom). The point: We keep on relating
to family even after they die.
A few avid love scenes and a live-in
relationship so far are the closest to Armageddon. A more basic
complaint is the empty heads of the characters,
who seem unlikely to come up with any great thoughts or passions.
These are 20-somethings, and they have a long way to go. Good
writing and production values are not enough.
DANGEROUS MINDS
(ABC, Mondays): A white female teacher works in a marginal school
with troubled, mostly minority kids. She cares and it helps. She
has ex-Marine toughness and discipline, but problems are not always
solved. About the best audiences can hope for is entertainment,
maybe a little insight and inspiration.
Annie Potts is capable of carrying
this TV series, since she can make us want to believe almost anything.
Even better: The school has other teachers of other races who
also work hard and connect. This genre is a popular perennial;
we need and want hope in our schools. In one episode a big lovable
kid plants a tree, a bad guy knocks it down, a teacher convinces
the discouraged kid to plant it again. Not enough of us put our
trees back in the ground. For now at least, recommended.
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Sleepers
