Check Minus

Girl Review:

Remember when Joaquin Phoenix was an actor and not a crazed, hairy faux-recluse/rapper? He had, like, talent and stuff? I had almost forgotten the good ol’ days –oh, 2003! — until I saw Quills.

Quills is a period piece about an 18^th-century Catholic-run insane asylum, so you know that things are going to be peachy right from the start. Phoenix is the priest, handsome in his black robes and very kind in his treatment of the patients. He’s got this newfangled idea that insane people are still people, and should be treated as such. He encourages them to paint fires rather than setting them. (continue reading…)

The Missouri Breaks

Released in 1976 and set in late 19^th century Montana, The Missouri Breaks was directed by New Hollywood’s most underappreciated director, Arthur Penn.  Penn gave the film a tremendous look and feel, but the reason to queue this particular Revisionist Western is its 3 great performances:

Jack Nicholson plays the leader of a gang of rustlers.  He poses as a small-time farmer in order to get revenge on the wealthy rancher that killed his friend.  Nicholson has all the fire and wild-eyed unpredictability that you would expect (see: Five Easy Pieces, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and creates a Western anti-hero who is unsympathetic, unethical, and overwhelmed.

Marlon Brando plays Robert E. Lee Clayton, an eccentric (read: Fabulous!) regulator who uses unconventional style and brutal justice to deal with Nicholson and his gang.  If Brando was trying to make this character as anti-Western as possible he succeeded.  This is one of Brando’s last half-sane performances and despite the fact that he refused to be directed, read his lines off of cue cards, and invented a character that seems unreal, Robert E. Lee Clayton is captivating and the Brando’s erratic performance really works.

Harry Dean Stanton plays Cal, Nicholson’s closest friend.  Harry Dean Stanton is hands down the best supporting actor a film could ever ask for and this movie is a great display of his scene stealing presence. Check his Wikipedia page and you will find this quote from Roger Ebert: “No movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad.”  I would add my own quote: “A better than average Western starring two eccentrics can gain a great deal of authenticity and stability from a Harry Dean Stanton performance.”

And, you’ll notice a young Randy Quaid in a supporting role. (continue reading…)