Cast:
Warren Finnerty (Leach), Jerome Raphael (Solly), Garry Goodrow (Ernie), Jim Anderson (Sam), Carl Lee (Cowboy), Barbara Winchester (Sister Salvation), Henry Proach (Harry), Roscoe Lee Browne (J. J. Burden), William Redfield (Jim Dunn), with Freddie Redd (Piano Player), Jackie McLean (Sax Player), Larry Richie (Drummer), and Michael Mattos (Bass Player) Directed and Edited by Shirley Clarke.
Review:
"When I did The Connection, which was about junkies, I knew nothing about junk and cared less. It was a symbol--people who are on the outside. I always felt alone, and on the outside of the culture that I was in. I grew up in a time when women weren't running things. They still aren't."
You bet it was time to do something a bit more experimental when it comes to focusing on women directors. Shirley Clarke is surely deserving of curiosity, and she would cultivate a career of three decades in her own way. For one, she was actually interested in dance growing up as a child in New York City; she was the daughter of a office furniture manufacturer (and also a bully, as noted by her sister Elaine Dundy). She studied dance at Stephens College, Johns Hopkins University, Bennington College, and the University of North Carolina. Her first film would be in 1953 with Dance in the Sun; the short film was an adaptation of dance choreography. Her influences in becoming a director were films such as The Quiet One (1948, directed by Sidney Meyers), In the Street (1948, done by James Agee, Helen Levitt, and Janice Loeb), and Roberto Rossellini's Neorealist works (particularly Rome, Open City). She would gradually move into other subjects (with concurrent studying at the City College of New York in the mid 1950s), with Skyscraper (1959) being one notable work from that era; that film (in collaboration with Willard Van Dyke and Irving Jacoby) involved the construction of the 660 Fifth Avenue skyscraper. The Connection (1961) was Clarke's first feature-length film, and it was an adaptation of the 1959 play of the same name (originally produced by the Living Theater) by Jack Gelber, who would adapt the material for use in this film. Both play and movie would attract controversy; the plot focuses on the lives of heroin-addicted jazz musicians, and the film would attract further controversy because of its use of an obscene word (the word is "shit", used to describe heroin) that the state of New York banned for indecency; the lack of license did not stop attempts to screen the film anyway, but the police stepped in after it had screened twice, but the film was not favored by audiences (with reviews being more positive abroad than in New York). At any rate, Clarke would continue to make films involving characters perceived to live in the margins, such as with The Cool World (1963 and Portrait of Jason (1967) while later experimenting with video and lecturing until her death in 1997 at the age of 77, and she is surely deserving of attention with her place in cinema. Take it this way: when John Cassavetes directed his first film in Shadows (a key film within American independent cinema done in 1959), he did so with a 16mm camera that he borrowed from Clarke.
Oh, the experimental part. Well, it is one of the earliest examples of a "found footage" film, predating the dozens of found footage films that are generally used for horror. This is stated in the opening title card, which states that it is the "result" of footage assembled by a cameraman working for a missing documentary filmmaker (the play in comparison was a "play within a play", albeit with a few more characters). Clarke co-produced and edited the film, which takes place primarily on one set (designed by Richard Silbert) with two cameras that feature most of the cast from the original play. The film is whatever you think it is, whether involving drug addiction, or what Clarke believed it to be about with alienation. It is a wonderful achievement, one that is a representation of the avant-garde scene in all of its curious aspects without becoming engulfed in heavy-handed bloat. It is the logical extension of cinema verité within its frank depiction of American sensibilities in the era of the Beat Generation in the 1960s with a mood of "natural acting". With a mix of improvised acting, jump-cuts, and a simple plot, one will have quite a ball with a film that is basically like a jazz composition. It is everything and nothing you might expect, and the performers all do excellent jobs that draw you in from the jump without letting go. Finnerty was the one member of the cast recognized for his acting in the play (when it was on off-Broadway), and it shouldn't be surprising that he carries the film as one of the primary burning cinders that hold the film for such interest with his blazing sarcasm. Goodrow is also quite worthy in his sniveling human element, which Raphael and Anderson prove to be an interesting pair in varying moods when on/off their element (note the differences between being "on" and "off", after all). Lee displays casual charm when he arrives on screen that makes him quite captivating (incidentally, Winchester is paired with Lee for a time as an person of faith who doesn't see these folks for who they are, which is interesting). Browne (likely the most known of the actors in the film, since he had a career of over four decades) doesn't have much to say within time spent in either the background or within shots without Redfield. Of course, Redfield proves splendid within self-serving amusement too, while the quartet of jazz players accompany the film to great effect. No one ever becomes just a "character", since it has that touch of honesty with alienated people searching for the next certain experience. Really this could be about other addictions, but it also could be about any kind of fragmented people on the outside. I think in that regard the movie is a complete success when it comes to a movie that confronts you without any sort of qualms or compromises.
Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.
Next Time: We will take a momentary detour because of the obligation to detail thoughts on The Batman (2022), which happened to come out this month. As such, Women Directors Month will resume after that review with...
Wings (1966).
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