Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tropical Heat & A Filmmaker in Twilight
I knew about the Red Shoes, but my first awareness of the films of Michael Powell and his producer partner Emeric Pressburger came when they were championed by Martin Scorsese on the old Bravo cable network sometime in the late eighties. I have never taken time or effort to really explore their films, but Marty and others indicate there are lots of pleasures to be found there. I am not an Anglophobe, but British made television and film, with the exceptions of I, Claudius and the New British cinema of the sixties has a tendency to make my teeth hurt, especially when broad comedic elements are included.
The broad comedy included in Age of Consent, one of Michael Powell's last films, just about killed that one for me. However, Helen Miren's youth and physical attributes, James Mason's impeccable vocal delivery, and lush blue tropical skies of Australia's Great Barrier reef saved the day.
In our northern wet winters of the Pacific Northwest, a film about a warm blue place can give one a bit of relief. I remember really enjoying and feeling a bit of relief in seeing Boy On A Dolphinhome sick from school about forty years ago, or even a year and a half ago when I saw Gilo Pontecorvo's film with Yves Montand about a fishing village, The Wide Blue Road.
In Age of Consent James Mason plays Bradley Morahan, a highly successful New York based artist who needs to turn his back on production for profit and return to his Australian roots. He goes to live on a nearly deserted island tethered to society by a boat shuttle that comes over with supplies. And, lo and behold, the island seems only to be permanently inhabited by three women: A fairly batty middle aged one living on a trust, a really batty old lady, and, her granddaughter, a young, semi-feral, and physically stunning Helen Mirren. We see a lot of Mirren in this film, especially when the artist asks her to disrobe.
Things just about totally go off track both for the artist, and I say the film, when a deadbeat acquaintance of Morahan's arrives along with the kind of icky quasi-comedy that shows up too often in my taste in standard British cinema. But, as I say, you've got blue skies, a fine young woman, and a great actor who is fun to watch even when he is coasting or nearly at rest. I'm not sure if those elements are enough to fully redeem this film, but I kind of enjoyed it because of those factors.
The theme of the older artist and the younger woman also played a role in Powell's real life as well. In 1981 he married Martin Scorsese's film editor Thelma Schoonmaker who was 35 or so years younger than Powell. Scorsese introduced them, and all accounts I have seen indicate they spent 9 wonderful years together before Powell died at the age of 84 in 1990.
posted by well-executed buffet at 10:35 PM
Comments:
Did you ever see "Sirens" with Hugh Grant, Elle MacPherson, and Sam Neill? The story was based on the life of the same Aussie artist--Neill plays him. The film is set in, I believe, the 30's. I had the same reaction as you to "Age of Consent." Worth seeing for Mirren, mostly, who once called herself the "sexy man's thinking object." I just love her!
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