graphic by ^
max derungs
A look at the
limn
U
Pennies From Heaven
Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters
Cinema World
What happens when the optimism
of Hollywood musicals and the Amer
ican Dream collides with the Real
World?
"Pennies From Heaven.”
If you’re willing to put aside the
“wild and crazy" image of Steve Mar
tin for a while (not an easy task),
“Pennies From Heaven" works Di
rector Herb Ross uses an interesting
inversion of the classic Hollywood
musical to effectively portray the col
lapse of the American Dream against
the harsh battlements of the real
world
The real world, in this case, is that of
The Great Depression It's 1934, and
Martin is a starry-eyed sheet music
salesman who-wants to "live in a
world where the songs come true,"
kind of like a tall, dopey-looking male
Dorothy Gale
Martin makes his way over the rain
bow, but only for brief moments when
depressing situations are replaced
with optimistic production numbers
starring Martin, Bernadette Peters,
and other cast members These bub
bles burst quickly, however, and we
are back where we started, in the
middle of the Great Depression.
Martin's dream world is shattered
by lust, greed, deceit and injustice.
Nothing remains pure and untouched
by the ravages of the grimy world of
reality. Even his perfect love with an
innocent school teacher (Peters) is
ruined, by his own deceit and lust. He
returns tc his shrewish wife (Jessica
Harper), while Peters, now pregnant,
[OQgniinBnED]
becomes a prostitute.
Writer Dennis Potter shows us a
grim world where nothing is fair and
life is a cheat. This view is in stark
contrast to the rose-colored world of
Martin's dreams.
Although "Pennies From Heaven"
deals with a serious issue, it's not as
heavy as it sounds. It’s hard to
imagine a blend of “Death of a Sales
man” and ‘The Wizard of Oz,” but
somehow Ross makes “Pennies From
Heaven" work. The excellent musical
productions and Martin’s whimsical
characterization keep the film light
and lively — a pleasure from start to
finish.
Unfortunately, Martin can seem too
whimsical at times. It is easy to be
sidetracked into his "wild and crazy”
image, and the important dramatic
aspect of the film can be lost.
In spite of this temptation, “Pennies
From Heaven” is a fascinating look at
the mythology and the realities of the
working life in capitalist America. It’s
also a lot of fun.
by matt meyer
and wendy perrotta
Magic that warms the heart g
Heartland
Conchata Ferrell, Rip Torn
Valley River Twin Cinema
The first time I saw “Heartland" was
in a small theatre just off Times
Square. It had been a rather busy,
frenetic day outside; but as the lights
went down and the images began to
appear on the screen, I was no longer
in New York City. “Heartland” was
able to envelop me that strongly and
completely into its reality. The film has
that sort of magic to it.
“Heartland” is a special film. It's not
Burt Reynolds smashing up the bad
guy’s car. It’s not a group of grisly
fiends rising up from their graves to
avenge untimely and poorly motivated
deaths It’s not even Walter Matthau
and Jack Lemmon horsing around.
“Heartland” is a quiet, warm film
which creates its own pace and story
with a simple eloquence that is usually
found only in real life — seldom in a
movie.
The film is set in 1910 and concerns
a woman (Conchata Ferrell) who,
along with her nine year old daughter,
is seeking employment as a cook and
housekeeper in the wilds of Wyoming
Ul
u
She is offered such a position by a
hard working, no-nonsense rancher
and widower (Rip Torn). We see their
relationship develop over the space of
a year from a shaky beginning to a
sense of mutual responsibility, and
finally to a level of love and partner
ship as they go through the various
trials and day-to-day experiences of
the frontier life. These delicate layers
of experience are brought into
especially sharp focus during a long
snow-bound winter.
That’s the story line. What the film is
really about goes much deeper.
Partially funded by a grant from the
National Endowment for the Arts (to
my knowledge this is the first film
meant for commercial distribution to
receive such a grant and, what with all
the recent cutbacks, probably will be
the last), “Heartland” was me
ticulously researched and, by all ac
counts, faithfully presented.
For instance: the props are all either
antiques or authentic reproductions
and have a well-used look to them; the
house has actual hardwood floors so
that when an actor walks across them
with those rough-hewn boots, you
hear the sharp clump, not the muffled
sound of a Hollywood sound stage;
the methods of ranching, plowing
(which, by the way, the woman does,
the garden being her responsibility),
stringing a fence, doing the washing,
branding the cattle, etc., are all pre
sented the way they were actually
done.
One also feels a sense of commit
ment to the film and its message, not
only from the writer and director, but
also from the actors. One senses that
this isn’t just another job for them.
Perhaps part of that stems from the
actors being totally immersed in the
action. During the round-up and
branding sequence, for example,
there aren't ans stuntmen used, the
actors themselves do all the roping
and branding.
There is also a tremendously
engrossing and moving scene in
which Ferrell and Torn deliver a calf
which is upside down in the womb by
reaching inside the cow, attaching a
rope to the calf's hooves and pulling.
There is a strong sense of invol
vement in this sequence not only from
continued on page 2B
..
1