As it's still on my DVD hard drive, and as I am now going through a period of low level writers block, here's my take on the very popular, but somewhat polarising 1994 Robert Zemeckis film, Forrest Gump.
It isn’t difficult to see why this film won 5 Oscars. It is quite simply, just about technically flawless. There isn’t any one / thing misplaced or out of the general tone in the whole of the movie. Hanks plays Gump, the kind hearted but mentally challenged (IQ a lowly 75) mommy’s boy who through a sense of greater destiny and through the kindness of his own heart embodies the American dream to the fullest. His low IQ begets a contrary BIG CV, successful business man, sports college graduate, decorated Vietnam veteran, using some clever FX, and voice overs to superimpose Hanks into real life footage of US presidents, we can see Gump interacting directly and humorously with the shakers of history, world famous ping pong champion which indirectly leads to him providing John Lennon with the lyrics to “Imagine” and giving us “Shit happens” and the yellow smiley along the way. Hanks rises to the role, counter balancing knowing where to draw the line between parody and pathos, a realistic portrayal of a mental disorder, without straying into the realms of crude, clichéd and weakly observed caricature. This is immensely difficult to pull off and Hanks never falters at all in succeeding. I really think we can forget how difficult this is, and how it could have easily gone awry. The scene where he meets his son for the first time for me are the most well acted scenes in the film. The supporting cast is also universally great. I have to give particular kudos to Gary Sineses superb performance as Lieutenant Dan, the career military man who loses his legs in Vietnam, as we see his parallel journey from bitter and drunken dropout to a sense of quiet catharsis on a beautiful summer day on his and his kindly friends shrimping boat, without ever resorting to Pollyanna type shmuckery from Forrest to reach that moment. I also enjoyed the solid, focused pacing of the film. The humour is generally funny and not laboured. The pathos and emotional aspects compliment this beautifully. This is comedy drama, with equal emphasis on both sides of the coin. The general thread of the plot is how Forrest, Jenny (Robin Wright Penn.) and Lt. Dan experience the rough and tumble of US society from the 50’s to the 80’s. We see a sort of narrative tapestry of postwar US history which interacts alongside and with our characters, sometimes they alter and affect it, sometimes it affects them for ill and good, sometimes it’s palpable to them, other times they seem dimly aware, or not aware of how their society affects and creates them, or vice versa. This narrative sense of changing history, and how it can feel a huge and distant force, and sometimes close up and embracing our characters disparate lives back to the whole again, and changing ideas and norms is almost tangible and almost seems like a living character itself. Quite a lot of Gumps “fortunes” of destiny are stretching plausibility to absolute breaking point, but it is done with good, tongue in cheek humour, the Nixon scenes are a great example. We drop our cynicism and buy it for the ride. And this is perhaps why the films faults are to coin a relevant phrase – whitewashed.
There is a feeling amongst some that this film is (perhaps unwittingly) promoting a right wing agenda, show piecing conservative and conformist, small town values, and portraying the counterculture and civil rights movements in a negative light. I feel a review of this film requires me as a (very amateur) critic to address this, and I feel it does have some basis in truth, but it is not as clear cut as that. Any film that also rewards the kindness of a protagonist can’t be too shifty in my eyes. Yes the film massively overstates the accessibility of the American Dream (emphasis dream.). But the film does showcase the murkier side of the supposed right wing values it embraces. (Lt. Dan being let down by the nation he gave so much for. Jennys awful childhood explaining how she fell by the wayside for a while. Gumps Mom resorting to sexual procurement. The bigotry shown to Gump by his townspeople) and ignores the many obstacles that someone like Gump would face in reality. There is something both touching (and probably why the film was so popular.) and ultimately perhaps condescending in believing that with a kind heart and determination, even the most obstinate hurdles can be overcome. When in reality we need as a society to recognize and alter collective goals and idioms to accommodate the most vulnerable. That I think may not give us the instant gratification we actually do get watching this, but as is life.
Forrest Gump, a feel good film that enriches our well being by telling us that even the most disadvantaged can make it to the top by keeping the faith alive, which is great as we don’t have to change much. It warms the heart, but the head??
Lenin once sarcastically quipped that he couldn't listen to music as it made him want to pat folk on the head and say kind things to them. His point being that certain emotional stimulants can give you a warm, slightly mushy feeling, despite yourself. I find Forrest Gump has exactly this affect on me, when perhaps it really shouldn't have any right to do so. It is no secret this Robert Zemeckis film was a huge hit when released. It is also a controversial hit, with many plaudits, and also many critics as well. It’s sort of the film equivalent of a Concorde that is painted bright pink. Or, if Cheryl Cole’s parents had called her Doris Grimyflanks. The end product is an almost technically flawless in every way, however there is that one glaring problem that if you let it bother you, can and will overshadow all the things they do very well. Well almost.
It isn’t difficult to see why this film won 5 Oscars. It is quite simply, just about technically flawless. There isn’t any one / thing misplaced or out of the general tone in the whole of the movie. Hanks plays Gump, the kind hearted but mentally challenged (IQ a lowly 75) mommy’s boy who through a sense of greater destiny and through the kindness of his own heart embodies the American dream to the fullest. His low IQ begets a contrary BIG CV, successful business man, sports college graduate, decorated Vietnam veteran, using some clever FX, and voice overs to superimpose Hanks into real life footage of US presidents, we can see Gump interacting directly and humorously with the shakers of history, world famous ping pong champion which indirectly leads to him providing John Lennon with the lyrics to “Imagine” and giving us “Shit happens” and the yellow smiley along the way. Hanks rises to the role, counter balancing knowing where to draw the line between parody and pathos, a realistic portrayal of a mental disorder, without straying into the realms of crude, clichéd and weakly observed caricature. This is immensely difficult to pull off and Hanks never falters at all in succeeding. I really think we can forget how difficult this is, and how it could have easily gone awry. The scene where he meets his son for the first time for me are the most well acted scenes in the film. The supporting cast is also universally great. I have to give particular kudos to Gary Sineses superb performance as Lieutenant Dan, the career military man who loses his legs in Vietnam, as we see his parallel journey from bitter and drunken dropout to a sense of quiet catharsis on a beautiful summer day on his and his kindly friends shrimping boat, without ever resorting to Pollyanna type shmuckery from Forrest to reach that moment. I also enjoyed the solid, focused pacing of the film. The humour is generally funny and not laboured. The pathos and emotional aspects compliment this beautifully. This is comedy drama, with equal emphasis on both sides of the coin. The general thread of the plot is how Forrest, Jenny (Robin Wright Penn.) and Lt. Dan experience the rough and tumble of US society from the 50’s to the 80’s. We see a sort of narrative tapestry of postwar US history which interacts alongside and with our characters, sometimes they alter and affect it, sometimes it affects them for ill and good, sometimes it’s palpable to them, other times they seem dimly aware, or not aware of how their society affects and creates them, or vice versa. This narrative sense of changing history, and how it can feel a huge and distant force, and sometimes close up and embracing our characters disparate lives back to the whole again, and changing ideas and norms is almost tangible and almost seems like a living character itself. Quite a lot of Gumps “fortunes” of destiny are stretching plausibility to absolute breaking point, but it is done with good, tongue in cheek humour, the Nixon scenes are a great example. We drop our cynicism and buy it for the ride. And this is perhaps why the films faults are to coin a relevant phrase – whitewashed.
There is a feeling amongst some that this film is (perhaps unwittingly) promoting a right wing agenda, show piecing conservative and conformist, small town values, and portraying the counterculture and civil rights movements in a negative light. I feel a review of this film requires me as a (very amateur) critic to address this, and I feel it does have some basis in truth, but it is not as clear cut as that. Any film that also rewards the kindness of a protagonist can’t be too shifty in my eyes. Yes the film massively overstates the accessibility of the American Dream (emphasis dream.). But the film does showcase the murkier side of the supposed right wing values it embraces. (Lt. Dan being let down by the nation he gave so much for. Jennys awful childhood explaining how she fell by the wayside for a while. Gumps Mom resorting to sexual procurement. The bigotry shown to Gump by his townspeople) and ignores the many obstacles that someone like Gump would face in reality. There is something both touching (and probably why the film was so popular.) and ultimately perhaps condescending in believing that with a kind heart and determination, even the most obstinate hurdles can be overcome. When in reality we need as a society to recognize and alter collective goals and idioms to accommodate the most vulnerable. That I think may not give us the instant gratification we actually do get watching this, but as is life.Forrest Gump, a feel good film that enriches our well being by telling us that even the most disadvantaged can make it to the top by keeping the faith alive, which is great as we don’t have to change much. It warms the heart, but the head??
No comments:
Post a Comment