CINEMA _
Review:
Reuben,
Reuben
Directed by Robert Ellis Miller:
screenplay by Julius J. Epstein, from
the novel by Peter DeVries and the
play "Spofford" by Herman Shumlin:
starring Tom Conti. Kelley McGillis.
Gowan McGland (Oscar
nominee Tom Conti) is a Celtic
poet who has layed down his pen
for the podium, content with a
modest existence sustained by the
meager stipends garnered on the
lecture circuit. He now finds
himself slowly waking the sleepy
East Coast academic community
of Woodsmoke, speaking to
women's literary clubs and seduc
ing as many of its members as
possible in between. Gowan is a
fascinating figure of a man. With
a perpetual half-day's growth and
an almost constant state of in
ebriation, he attracts women by
the score, content to bed them and
insult their husbands at dinner
parties, almost as if it were a sim
ple game to fight off boredom.
Gowan's only real friends in
this community are an old philo
sopher farmer named Jack Spof
ford (Jack Davidson) and his Scot
tish sheep dog Reuben. It’s only
fitting that Gowan loses his de
tachment and actually falls in love
with Spofford's beautiful grand
daughter Geneva (Kelly McGillis),
an innocent young woman who is
intrigued with Gowan and at
tempts to probe him psychologic
ally, with little success. True love
seems to bring some real meaning
into Gowan's life, but the price he
pays seems to be retribution from
God, ironic but ill-timed poetic
justice.
Conti brings the character of
Gowan alive in a tremendous per
formance that has the audience
loving this figure of indolence and
sloth. This is a man who steals tips
off of restaurant tables and basic
ally leeches off anyone in the com
munity with money, but his bare
ly concealed contempt and cyni
cism seems refreshingly honest up
against the preening, hypocritical
academic community he moves
around in. Gowan's behavior is
almost a protest, albeit one he en
joys. His biting sarcasm and sub
tle wit exposes a high intelligence
that he tries to hide with alcohol
and sex. One really wonders
what, though, Gowan is protest
ing against or hiding from. He
gives us no clues, but that's part of
the fun of him.
Gowan is the key to the story.
Though well portrayed, none of
the other characters approach his
wit or charisma except for Spof
ford, who is on the screen for too
little time. Though Geneva is the
more important character, Spof
ford is much more interesting than
she.
Reuben, Reuben is an intelli
gently written, sophisticated
drama with two fascinating char
acters, great dialogue and some
wonderful humor. Conti's spot
light performance is just one
reason to see the film.
—Sean Axmaker
Review:
Streets of Fire
Directed by Walter Hill: written by
Walter Hill and Larry Gross: starring
Michael Pare. Diane Lane, Rick
Moranis, Amy Madigan.
Take the neo-noir atmosphere
of Blade Runner and drop it into
the Manhattan Island prison of Es
cape from New York: that's a fair
approximation of the setting for
Streets of Fire, a curious amalgam
of fifties and eighties that moves
to the steady beat of rock 'n roll.
Hill's film is a simple adventure
tale. The characters are only mar
ginally sketched out, but there
isn't any need for real people in
this story. There's only good and
evil. Raven (William Dafoe) is
evil. He leads a motorcycle gang
known as the Bombers, who kid
nap rock singer Ellen Aim (Diane
Lane). Tom Cody (Michael Pare)
is good. He and sidekick McCoy
(Amy Madigan) trek into Bomber
territory and get her out. Simple,
isn't it?
Streets moves along quickly to
a pounding rock beat provided by
Ry Cooder and various guest ar
tists. Hill knows how to stage ac
tion and he does it well here.
Stripped bare of any thematic
meaning, all that's left here is the
aesthetics of speed, violence and
music. With attractive set design
and a curious costume design that
combines eighties punk and fifties
styles, the film is attractive and in
teresting on a surface level, yet
Hill makes it all work. The energy
level stays pumped up throughout
and the action comes fast and ex
pertly choreographed. Cody is an
ideal hero—reminiscent of Clint
Eastwood in Sergio Leone's classic
westerns. Though he can't quite
fill Eastwood's shoes, Pare makes
a valiant attempt, and the rifle he
totes seems almost a tip of the hat
to Eastwood.
This is myth, pure and simple,
on a level so abstract that it
doesn't go much beyond pure
good and evil. Cody is Han Solo
with a harder edge, a hero for the
inner city. Walter Hill keeps the
pace fast and furious without
pausing for simple things like
characterization or motivation,
but none is needed. Except for
some major dialogue inanities.
Streets works on exactly the level
it is trying for—the aesthetics of
sound and image and the power of
myth.
—Sean Axmaker
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Eugene Premier June 22-28
Kamilla
"Kamilla is real life from a wom
an's eye view. A rare and mem
orable portrait with gentle
humor and unusual sensitivity,"
says S.F. Chronicle. Set at the end
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Shows Fri.-Sat. at 7:30 & 9:30 pm
Sun-Thurs at 8:00 pm only
All shows Sunday
at reduced admission
with 2:00 pm matinee
FINAL WEEK!
“REUBEN, REUBEN ... is cer
tainly reason enough for a
grown-up to go back to the
movies again.”
— Richard Corliss. TIME MAGAZINE
eabet
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DONT MISS THIS INTELLIGENT COMEDY
shout a slightly over-the-hill Welsh poet Gowan
McGland (imagine Dylan Thomas & Brendan
Behan combined!) who is on the northeastern
college lecture circuit charming just about
everyone he meets An AMAZING bit of trivia
the screenplay is by Julius ) Epstein, who with his
brother Phillip. won an Academy Award in 1943
for the script of CASABLANCA!!
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Sun.-Thur. 7:00 & 9:00
Fri. & Sat. 7:25 & 9:30
Sat.-Sun. Bargain Matinee 4 pm
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