Greetings,
I don't know why this is, but it seems like the more famous some people get, the less seriously we take them and their talent. Or we just more easily forget what they are capable of doing. That could be because, as time in fame goes on, one has the opportunity to make more questionable decisions, and they do so in the spotlight. And so we all have the opportunity to make our own decisions about them. Look, I'm talking about James Franco here.
Let me put all my cards on the table with this one. I think James Franco can be a really weird dude. But he's an artist, so I tend to let him get away with it. Especially since I am also an artist and kind of weird myself. It's better than why most people let him get away with it a.k.a. 'He's good looking, so he can do no wrong'. Yes, we have grown accustomed to the typical jabs at Mr. Franco, like he squints all the time, and he seems like he's high all the time, and since he is so good at playing characters who are high all the time, maybe he really is high all the time! Now THAT was a sentence. And, mind you, these are just the things I've heard other people say. But jokes aside, I think we can all agree that James Franco does have some legitimate talent as an actor. We were certainly reminded of that when he gave a stellar performance in 127 Hours a few years ago, and he was great in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Hail, Caesar, indeed! Yeah, I know that's not the part he played, but I just wanted to say it, okay. However, if we want to see James Franco in one of his finest performances, we must travel back in time to 2001 when he played the titular role in the TNT television movie, James Dean.
Like several biopics choose to do, we begin, not at the beginning, but at some important part in the life of main character/subject. Here, it starts on the set of East of Eden, showing how James Dean interacted with the director and fellow actors, but mostly, his intent to make Raymond Massey, the actor playing his father, hate him. Because, according to James, "He has to hate me". That, of course, lets us know that much of the story we are about to see will be centered around the strained relationship he had with own father. At this point, we go back to his childhood, where we see his loving mother, Mildred, and his father, Winton, played by Michael Moriarty, who did a fantastic job, as always. Right off the bat, we see how much he seems to dismiss James, almost as though he is an unnecessary nuisance in his life. We are eventually told why this is. When James's mother dies, his father sends him to live in Indiana with his aunt and uncle, so he ends up rarely seeing Winton as he grows up.
After high school, James decides to be an actor, much to the chagrin of his father, but he ends up getting into James Whitmore's acting class, as well as befriending fellow future legend, Martin Landau. I didn't know they were buddies. James also struck up a friendship around this time with actress, Christine White, best known for her role in the Twilight Zone episode, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet". You know the one. Shatner, airplane wing, fluffy monster. How could you forget? Anyway, they all make it into the Actor's Studio, which leads to James to having theater success, which leads to his film career. And whilst this begins, we start to see how he relates to the people at Warner Bros., specifically the head of that studio, who has many problems with the lifestyle that James leads. We also witness his relationship with Pier Angeli, a young actress with an overbearing mother who completely disapproves of their being together. Of course, all of these events lead to his untimely death at the age of twenty-four.
Now I really don't know how much of this was accurate to what actually happened. Of course, there are certain indisputable facts that were included, but there's so much more needed to fill a biopic, like the personal stuff. Here, I feel like they truly had to dramatize the story to humanize the man. I mean, let's face it. There are certain people who have stopped being actual people in our minds and are nothing but their own legend. James Dean is one of them. There is just so much of an iconic label attached to him that it's almost like he wasn't a real person. What this movie did so well was show those tangible, vulnerable human qualities that he had. It wasn't afraid to go to those emotional depths. Like one scene shows James Dean sitting on the set of East of Eden with Julie Harris as the production comes to an end. He is just so sad, because he felt like all those people with whom he worked had become his family, and Julie just hugs him and comforts him, and it creates such a real, tender moment between two actors who had become very close friends. And, of course, their is the fantastic arc concerning his relationship with his father. I have to say, it is in these scenes where James Franco was beyond amazing. He really dug deep to show the hurt that James Dean felt, and how he had this aching need to be loved by his father. At one point that takes place after he has a lot of success, he is literally begging his father to be proud of him. And it's utterly heartbreaking. Again, I don't exactly know how much of this actually happened, but it wouldn't surprise me if they got a lot of things right.
So if you like a good biopic, I strongly suggest this one. I haven't seen it on TV for awhile, but you can rent it on DVD. If nothing else, see it for the great performances. Again, Michael Moriarty was incredible and won an Emmy for this, as a matter of a fact. And Franco got a Golden Globe for this, too. Speaking of which, I know I made fun of him a little here, since it is pretty easy to do so these days, but I can't deny the truth that this guy is a really good actor. He proves it here. He has proved it elsewhere. Let's just hope he makes wise acting decisions, so he can continue proving it.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
