Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Claudine
I saw about half of this film in the summer of 1977. It was made three years earlier, but was programmed on a double bill with Car Wash. I remember only saw about half of it. This week I saw the whole thing. The world's hippest garbage man, James Earl Jones hooks up with Diahann Carroll as Claudine, the welfare mother doing what she can to make it despite her six children.
Some films are successful because of one or two elements. Claudine is a good little movie that makes it due to great acting and a lot of heart. When Laurence Fishburne recently appeared on the Elvis Mitchell interview program, Under the Influence, he listed James Earl Jones' performance as an example of "swinging," which I interpret to mean as when an actor is in a zone where all cylinders and moving parts both external and internal lead to a most memorable performance. He certainly is one of the hippest garbage men to be depicted on film. The welfare system makes his life hell putting him between rock and hard place and James eloquently states his case several times during the film.
The soundtrack truly stands out here as well. Curtis Mayfield composed the music which was performed by Gladys Knight and the Pips. Although, the director's choice to cue in the song Mr. Welfare Man every time the case worker came to call on Claudine and her brood is less than subtle. Regardless, Claudine was certainly sought as anecdote to the years of violent blaxploitation that preceded it and still stands as a pleasant film experience.
posted by well-executed buffet at 12:33 AM
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