Customer Reviews

Fool for Love

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The first perceptions one has of a work of art likely set one's standard by which that work is subsequently judged in comparison with its presentation in another medium. For example if the work is first encountered as a stage-play, then that form becomes the defacto standard for later comparisons, and a subsequent film of that work will likely never achieve one's preconceived expectations. This reviewer first encountered "Fool for Love" in a local theatre in 1985, never having seen the original play.

Readers who are fans of Tennessee Williams' PBS/Showtime 1984 TV version of "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof" with Jessica Lange and Tommy Lee Jones (forget the worthless and sickeningly bowdlerized 1958 Taylor-Newman version, a perfect example of how rampant, uncontrolled religious censorship runs amok and destroys a work of art); or fans of Eugene O'Neill's 1960 "The Iceman Cometh (the Broadway Archive version with Jason Robards); will find this film fits neatly within that pantheon. With this work, Sam Shepard's genius rightly assumes co-equal rank with that of both Williams and O'Neill.

But there is a difference between this film and that of the two outstanding films cited above. This work is NOT just the filming of a great stage-play inside some cheesy New Mexico motel room. Director Altman actually had the complete, rundown "El Royale" motel-cabin, restaurant-bar and junkyard complex built to his specifications outside Sante Fe, where a 360 degree camera sweep would reveal nothing else beyond the complex but the isolated, lonely mountainous and grassy scrubland just off the interstate. The set is complete with flickering burned-out neon; abandoned vehicles; curtain-covered "kitchenette", tiny bath lavatory, medicine cabinet and stool in every cabin; and urine-God-only-knows-what-else stained mattresses (with bed vibrators); a way-station for desperate travelers going elsewhere. Director Altman reports in the documentary that the film set construction was so realistic, travelers passing on the interstate would actually stop and try to book accommodations or eat in the "restaurant."

Character interactions are complex and intense, at times funny yet simultaneously deadly serious, loaded with crackling, sizzling dialog and byplay which run tempestuously hot and cold. While these behaviors seem initially inexplicable, they are driven by past events, which growing intimations and clarifications gradually unveil. The present day portrayals are freely intermixed with metaphors and ghostly influences from that past. The shocking realities of that past are shown in flashback with all the contradictions and lies of convenience that creep into such re-telling. The way these elements are brought seamlessly together make this a film of such depth that it screams out for multiple viewings to appreciate its full merits.

Because of the vitality and completeness down to every last detail; a large background cast of other people including bit-parts and stand-ins for principal actors when they were younger; horses and cattle galore; functioning beat-up cars, trucks with dirty windshields and horse-trailers; and characters' past flashbacks filmed in a variety of supporting locales; this production never once assumes the aura of its stage-play origins. No matter how much one touts the supremacy of the original play, one would have to concede that there are elements of this joint Altman-Shepard recreation of Shepard's original that would simply be impossible to realize on the stage.

Sam Shepard's screenplay is perfectly realized. Robert Altman's direction of the story, the actors, and the background settings is nothing short of masterful. The cast is uniformly superb. Pierre Mignot's beautifully clear and largely night-time color cinematography and George Burt's musical assemblage blend it all together into an unforgettable masterpiece of cinematic art.

A fascinating 20 minute making-of documentary by Robert Altman (refreshingly low-key in comparison to the usual rampant narcissism displayed in too many such documentaries) is included, along with the original theatrical trailer. The DVD's 1.85:1 original theatrical aspect ratio picture quality is excellent. Sound is fine, though stereo surround effects are muted or non-existent, not a problem as such effects could make no contribution. Like Williams and O'Neill, Shepard has created a highly cerebral film. Those who are teen-age action-adventure addicts need not waste their time on this pre-eminently adult fare

Eighteen, 19, 20 years ago, I first saw this film. I loved it, my teenaged kids loved it. I had no idea Sam Shepard had written the play, or even that there was a play, though it seems obvious now. We watched this over and over. I still play the sound track, sung, I found out somewhere recently, by Sam's sister, Sandy Rogers--talk about alternative country! I still watch this film from time to time. It's enchanting, it's funny, it's mysterious, and there's that kick-ass soundtrack. It never gets old for me.

Interesting, laid back version of the Shepherd play. On stage, with Ed Harris in the lead, it was all frenetic energy and danger. Here the piece is more moody and dreamlike. At times that works tremendously well, and it is visually beautiful. The play has been opened up in a way that feels natural and not forced. And the use of narration is very interesting and productively unsettling, since the memories we see do not quite match the words we hear.

On the other hand, the slower pace makes the writing feel more melodramatic and almost old-fashioned in its twists. And Shepherd is nowhere near as interesting as Harris was on stage. We never feel that he is really dangerous. He comes off more as a love-struck kid than obsessed man. And it ends with a whimper, not a kick. Still, there are plenty of less interesting theater to film adaptations out there.

My first Altman was Nashville (1975), until today a five star, like some of his later hits - The Player (1992), Short Cuts (1993) and Prêt-à-porter (1994). Fool for Love is like a poor country version of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Brooks, 1958), only that the main characters are not played by Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Burl Ives. Kim Basinger tries hard to get some logic into her part, but literally collapses against an incoherent, rather empty script. Lots of unmotivated violence. Nothing to write home about!

"Fool for Love" (1985) is directed by Robert Altman (Mash, The Player, Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean). The film takes place in the desert, in the Southwest, where an old motel is located. Eddie (Sam Shepard) and May (Kim Basinger) are old flames, and Eddie has arrived after driving thousands of miles to drag May back with him. The venom, and love, and frustration, is all laid out as these two work out their issues with one another. The movie is somewhat reminiscent of the film "Paris Texas", which came out one year earlier, in its slow delivery of facts. When a friend (Randy Quaid) of May's comes by we begin to learn what is really behind the relationship of the two lovers. What is also interesting about the film is the mix of past events with present events as time and space are allowed to overlap, and memories take on a concrete quality. This adds a haunting, and somewhat dreamlike quality to the story, and we begin to wonder what is real, just as we begin to wonder if the stories Eddie and May are telling are true or not.

This dvd looks quite good, and it appears to be cleaned up and remastered when compared with images from the movie seen in the twenty minute special feature (Robert Altman: "Art and Soul"), which has Robert Altman discussing the film. The special features also include some notes Altman wrote about the film.

Fool for Love was so slow and tedious I could not get through a half hour of it. The only redeeming part for was seeing Kim Basinger in her underwear for a few minutes. That was not nearly enough to justify watching this movie.

The problem with Fool for Love is that it is based on a wonderful, emotional play. And if you HAVE READ the entire play, it is very difficult to see the work on film. So much gets lost in translation, so much emotion is lost, especially in this film. And naturally, for film, we need more dramatics, action, more scenery changes, and of course shortened dialogue.

When you see the movie version, you cannot "feel" the depth of love, loss, pain, co-dependency that May and Eddie have with one another. In the book, we understand how the relationship between May and Eddie is recycled from the parents. Life does repeat itself. However, in the movie, much of that doesn't come across.

If you have NEVER READ the play, and are new to the story, you may like it, the theatrics, dramatics, backflash, acting. Although Sam Shepherd did the screenplay from his own play, we get some reassurance on its production. How could the writer of his own play screw it up for film. The film was directed well, by the hugely popular and very successful TV and movie director, Robert Altman.

Sam Shepherd and Kim Basinger were cast well for their roles, however we experience visually who Eddie is rather learn who he is through dialogue. Randy Quaid's character Martin does not come across as the shy, simple and innocent man, and you miss the great written dialogue exchange that Eddie and Martin have in the book.

Eddie has come to take May back. While Martin arrives for an evening with May, Eddie divulges to Martin, the past, the sordid secret and through a few flashbacks, we learn how the incestual affair happened and how the parents life influenced May and Eddie's relationship.

If you are not into reading dramatic plays, go ahead and see the film. But if you wish to appreciate the complete emotional story, read the book first. Fool for Love and Other Plays.....Rizzo

I love Sam Shepard, so I'll see or read just about anything he's done. This one's a little hard to watch, though, partly because of pace, partly because of a slight bit of over-dramatizing from actors and director, and partly because of subject matter. Despite all this, it's still worth watching.

I do not wish to go into a long expo say of this movie, the memories are just not that pleasant. I will note that this movie moves along at about the same speed as the hands of a clock, sweep hand excepted.

Shepard loves incest, family abuse, cowboys and rambling loose dialogue. And that seems to be all he knows. For all of his artistic integrity his plays have always felt a little on the nose and a little juvenile (his films even worse!). Altman's multiplicity of points of view, suppressed narration and mass-media-esque techniques give wonderful life to a play that is hardly worth the attention.