THE BOSTONIANS(1984)
A Merchant-Ivory Production, to this cinephile, is shorthand for elegant personages and deceptively privileged lives struggling to find their footing in the larger sociological pantheon.
Being materially well-off and well-spoken, genteel and presentable to a world that only hears you if you belong to a certain class is a dilemma unto itself and not lost to the occupants of such a sphere. Imposter syndrome? Or impersonating a bigger cause without fully investing in its depth and wealth of concerns?
In THE BOSTONIANS, the three-way scenario of suffrage, desire and forging ahead for a future of equality in 19th century America is created on social grounds where human interactions are peppered with decency. Yet the sparks of genius follow a larger trail of how relationship among sexes is in a wholly complex domain. No one is untouched by conventions or the desire to be something the previous generation or era wasn't able to accomplish.
The fear of losing out on one's ideals or the intimacy of a profound friendship is revealed here in a screenplay brimming with emotional stakes and simultaneous diffidence. In the end, when a middle-aged woman takes over the stage to deliver an impassioned speech she had trained her mentee for, we realise that the winds of change are fanned by 'individual' agency. That once the spokes of revolution move forward, personal drama and free-will cannot break a symmetry of shaping posterity.
HOWARDS END(1992)
A tale of manners, the tug of war between classes, modernity and tradition, patriarchy and inheritance has unlikely grace notes when two women connect as empathetic individuals, one's convalescence offset by the younger lady's effervescence.
In another parallel line, a young man is orphaned by dint of the class he's born to, a man of responsibility, evolving erudition and wonder who's crushed by the politics around his employment status. His friendship with two kindly sisters is a respite from the larger forces of cruelty that otherwise leaves no door open for him.
Then when the older of these two sisters opts for the conventions of matrimony, it breaks our hearts to watch her cut corners to fit an ideal mould for her better half. Her eternal independence of thought and spirit goes into hiding. The sisters' unbreakable tenacity suffers on account of it. The younger one, always opinionated, impassioned and siding with the voice of truth, cleaves herself away from this rote scenario.
But their joint tenacity is at the heart of Howards End where the idea of home is passed down from one woman to another kindly acquaintance, the family home the former lady always lived in. It seems she was overseeing the transitions of life for these sisters and knew their bond would prevail against the obdurate tides of male influence and a lack of complicity accorded to those in power in society.
There's a humbling coda, justice delivered to a man for his flippant ways, a discordant note of separation. The sisters stick with each other. Against tides of conformity and time, they give Howards End a familial anchor it always represented. One of a possible matrilineal future divested from male interference or sexist fashions.
In all finality, this Merchant-Ivory feature is beautifully realised. The performances here are unforgettable.
***
CHICAGO(2002)
This is undoubtedly Rob Marshall's proudest moment as a visually adept, choreographically astute man of style. It's a feat he has repeated splendidly in MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, NINE, INTO THE WOODS and even in 2023's live action THE LITTLE MERMAID.
The craft, period detailing and sensual moves prove themselves to be timeless when it comes to numbers like 'All That Jazz', Queen Latifah's Mama Blues, 'He Had It Coming', John C Reilly's empathetic 'Mr. Cellophane' and the tap-dancing showcase by Richard Gere as well as him and Renee Zellweger joining forces on the excellent marionette act.
Apart from the musical interludes, meant to illustrate jailhouse dynamics and character arcs, the spoken word sequences are in fidelity to the bottomless mileage of a world where everyday histrionics serve themselves as appendages for tantalizing showmanship. It is also prudent about the manipulative levers of popular culture that has the alchemy to turn notoriety into a redemptive arc without bothering to conceal the manufactured nature of such a trajectory.
The idea of crime compelled by male hegemony and exploitation is another tantalising arc here. In the end, the campy, tonally amoral means devised here fit like gloves in our own present period. Without providing a moral compass, our world has always churned by translating unsavoury deeds into often questionable feats of entertainment.
In a way, CHICAGO puts the gaze back at us. Its artifice is meant to reflect our own.
***
THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR, THE RAT CATCHER & THE SWAN(2023)
For the price of one, viewers can now experience a trifecta of Roald Dahl tales brought to vibrant life by Wes Anderson. Netflix being the global medium of transmitting them, it was a good Friday show for this cinephile.
At first glance, this is the usual brand of Andersonian whimsy finding expression in short-form storytelling. More than the whimsy, the poker faced narration or rapid delivery of dialogues, these three tales underline the absurdity of everyday experiences.
A search for rampaging rats or the dangerous contours of bullying( as on THE SWAN) begins with the sheer absurdity of both experiences. Mr. Anderson and his cast of performers give these the feeling of reading them in print, the halting and rapid churn of enunciation imitating textual material. One can also go back to the good old days when these tales were orally transmitted through generations. Here, the visual vibrancy courtesy stop-motion animation, puppetry and use of sets project an artifice and theatrical flourish. They preserve a writer's legacy.
For modern audiences, these visual presentations with their breathless delivery of the written word and expressive felicity also delineate creative frontiers of audio books.
Watch these three to realise a world of innocence, darkness and melancholy, with nature and human endeavours becoming an integral part of the art of storytelling. As it always is.
***
NOTE: all the above clips are courtesy YouTube.
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