For one reason or another, some of these films stay permanently lodged in our heads and this is one of them........released in 1984, financed by a British company and produced, written and directed by Tony Garnett, a prominent, distinguished BBC producer. And originally titled "Deep In The Heart", since these Brits went deep in the heart of Texas to make a docu-drama blending any number of incendiary issues together......American's gun culture, the objectifying of women and the horror of date rape. Loaded with compelling, memorable sequences and performances, the movie ultimately loses its way in the end, unsure of whether it's exploiting its subject matter or simply chronicling it.
The shining star of this effort is actress Karen Young, playing Kathleen Sullivan, a lonely, painfully innocent Irish Catholic school teacher cast adrift in her position at a Dallas high school. As she pines for her loving home and family in Boston, she finds herself respectfully wooed by Larry (Clayton Day) a courtly lawyer and antique gun collector. Young instantly pierces your heart with her deer-in-the-headlights vulnerability.....which make what comes next even worse.
We know early on that Clayton Day's smooth-talking, gentlemanly Larry is in reality a misogynistic sleaze. We catch him ogling cheerleaders and slobbering along with his law firm buddies as they attend a nightclub's 'Foxy Boxing' night - with bra-less young women pounding each other with over-sized boxing gloves. After tricking Kathleen into his apartment with the offer of wine and conversation, Larry drops his fake human mask and rapes her at gunpoint.....twice. Director Garnett fades to black on the actual rapes, but Karen Young's wrenching portrayal of a victim's agony,fear and humiliation is stunning to behold. There's nothing in the work of the last few Best Actress Academy Award winners that comes anywhere to close to this.....
The established institutions Kathleen relies on offer her little comfort, solace or justice. The cops tell her that prosecuting Larry is strictly a he-said-she-said waste of time. Her priest counsels her to forgive Larry and welcome his potential child into the world in case he's impregnated her....
Her response? Full woman warrior mode.....Kathleen chops off her long hair, joins Larry's gun club, buying and learning to expertly wield a 357 Magnum......a served up cold dish of revenge seems likely.
And here's where the movie went astray. Tony Garnett's British studio expected a soul-satisfying Charles Bronson 'Death Wish' finale. But Garnett shot the movie with a documentarian's cold, distanced eye.....with a cast comprised almost entirely of Texan non-actors, filmed as if they're all appearing on a six 'o clock local news channel story. Vacillating between bullet riddled closure or a more realistic take befitting the movie's tone, Garnett settled for a limp half-measure......Larry, the Southwestern Cosby, suffers a fate more suitable for a romantic comedy villain than an odious date-rapist.
"Handgun" wanders all over the cinematic map, bouncing around issues that haven't lost their hot button status.....it takes lurching 360 turns in its acting, from Karen Young's astounding work to the live-as-it-happened cinema verite observations of Dallas high schoolers, gun enthusiasts and knife-loving survivalists. A mixed bag.....but the BQ couldn't stop watching. For Karen Young's work alone, we'll take aim and fire off 3 stars..(*** ).....it's somethin' to see, alright, sure as shootin'.....
No comments:
Post a Comment