“It is the blight man was born for
It is Margaret you mourn for.”

FILMED nearly six years ago by director (YOU CAN COUNT ON ME) and writer (GANGS OF NEW YORK, ANALYZE THIS, ANALYZE THAT) Kenneth Lonergan, MARGARET has only very recently been made available. Its troubled history reportedly is due to “editing problems”. It shows. Truly a mixed bag (emphasis on “mixed”) it is nevertheless worth your time if you’re open to something a little different and, at times, a bit confusing.

Lisa (Anna Paquin) is a young, bright (and just a little irritating) woman in her late teens. She lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with her stage actor, single mom (J. Smith Cameron) and a young brother.

Manhattan could almost be said to be a co-star in this film, similar to Woody Allen’s by the same name. MARGARET opens with some slow-motion shots of New Yorkers going about their day, just as we see Lisa doing. A young, shy fellow, from the private school she’s attending, awkwardly asks Lisa for a date. (“Are you, um, asking me… out?”, Lisa says, after several, funny attempts at clarification.)

This is the start of a theme that is present throughout MARGARET: little or no communication between characters. The most notable example being what immediately follows: a very heartbreaking and realistically portrayed accident involving a bus and a pedestrian. Which happens as a result of Lisa distracting the bus driver, Maretti (Mark Ruffalo (THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT), with her questions about his hat.

Within the movie’s first few minutes, we’ve already had three or four instances of miscommunication. Many more ensue, not the least of which is between director/writer and the audience.

The movie starts out well enough. In fact, it’s riveting during its first hour, as Lisa is shaken to her core by the tragedy and her decision to lie to authorities about Maretti’s responsibility for the accident. As the story progresses, Lisa becomes angry, regretful and resentful. She gets extremely moody, ornery, and combative, with her teachers (Matthew Broderick and Matt Damon, among two others) and the other private school students, but particularly with her mother, Joan.

Joan has emotional troubles of her own, as is evident after she meets, and begins to date, the dashing, debonair and very smitten Ramon (Jean Reno). Joan appears only mildly interested and, in fact, really seems to be using Ramon to fill her physical needs.

Lisa, meanwhile, confronts Maretti and his wife at their home, challenging him to admit to the police he went through a red light. Lisa also confronts police detectives, has a ferocious, very well-acted verbal battle with her mom, and, by her own request, loses her virginity.

When Lisa’s persuasions to Maretti don’t work, she enlists the help of the victim’s relative, Emily, played outstandingly and hilariously by Jeannie Berlin (daughter of Elaine May). Emily, in a heated argument with Lisa, will stand for none of her guff. “This isn’t an opera! And we are not all supporting characters to the drama of your amazing life!”. Emily introduces her to one lawyer, and then another. Legal wrangling (too much of it) is interspersed with Emily’s quips and sarcastic attitude, and they really lighten and brighten this picture which, by now, has begun to sag under its own weight.

A totally incongruous encounter between Lisa, her teacher (Damon) and his girlfriend near the movie’s end had me baffled; it appears likely that this could be a result of the film’s alleged “editing troubles”.

There are other, more tightly-knitted movies of this type–movies that have many characters, overlapping stories, and changes in tone. Some examples are SHORT CUTS, MAGNOLIA, and GRAND CANYON–all of which have surprises in them but flow smoothly and logically.  MARGARET feels like a rough cut. It’s unorganized and long (2-1/2 hours*) with several dead end sequences and needless plot tangents. It could easily do without 30 minutes. It’s hard, for example, to figure out why there should be two lawyers (one’s purpose seems to be only to introduce the other), and four teachers, for instance.

Still, even with these flaws, some major, this movie is recommended. Paquin, Smith-Cameron, Ruffalo and Berlin are terrific–not a false note between them. It’s fun to see Reno, Broderick and Damon, although their parts are small and don’t pack nearly the same degrees of emotion. And then there are the panning shots of the city. Even if they were added to help patch over the editing miscues, they give MARGARET a little bit of the cohesion that it needs.

MARGARET is widely available on DVD, Blu-Ray (*with an even longer, three-hour “director’s cut) and streaming services such as iTunes 

THE THIRD MAN (1949; Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli; directed by Carol Reed) 

Occasionally, I will be writing something I’ve dubbed “End Notes”–a very short blurb about, well, the ending of a particular movie. It’ll usually be a favorite ending, from a movie that to me has a perfect ending. Or maybe a movie I never wanted to see end. So, it goes without saying, that–even though you’ve probably seen the movie–I need to issue a Spoiler Alert. And I just did.

RECENTLY, I was fortunate to be at a Chicago Symphony Orchestra performance at which Anton Karas’ famous and unique Third Man Theme was played. A zither player was not easy for the CSO to find, so the conductor said. They searched high and low, finally locating one in… Milwaukee. He was an unassuming fellow, greeted with huge applause. Symphony Center became quiet, and then we heard the familiar opening notes.

Karas’ music gives this amazingly atmospheric movie–personally one of my all-time favorites– a melancholy, wistful tone nearly throughout. Occasionally the tune segues into a jaunty sort of rhythm, which matches Harry Lime (Orson Welles) as he goes on his merry, postwar way through the dark ruins of Vienna. But his bounciness and that of the music only emphasizes the sadness that pervades the other parts of the score, and the tragic events that ensue. We know Lime is whistling in the dark. He is doomed.

We come to the movie’s final scene. Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) has had to reluctantly acknowledge, thanks to Major Calloway (the great Trevor Howard), that the greed and callousness of his old friend Harry has led to the deaths of many children. Since arriving in Vienna, Holly has had a romantic interest in Harry’s beautiful, sultry girlfriend, Anna (Alida Valli), but it’s obvious to everyone (except Holly) that she does not feel the same. He tries, unsuccessfully, to convince Anna of Lime’s guilt. But Anna’s heart remains with Harry. She feels Holly has betrayed both herself and Harry, and she will not forgive.

Coming full circle since the film’s beginning, we’re back at the cemetery, once again saying good bye to Harry Lime. It’s a grim and chilly fall afternoon. The funeral service has ended. Saddened friends are departing, going their separate ways.

Holly leans non-chalantly against a wooden horse cart, like one of the wagons in his cheap, Zane Grey-like novels. He strikes a pose like a Western cowboy as he awaits the approach of the grieving, disillusioned Anna. Surely she will stop and we will talk, Martins might be thinking. Calloway glances back, his expression saying, The fool will never learn.

Holly looks down the lane, towards the approaching figure. Dry leaves fall from barren trees, like tears. Anna draws nearer. Then, without a pause or acknowledgment, Anna passes Holly by…

Holly reaches for a cigarette, lights it, and tosses the match. Harry is gone. Anna has left. One can’t just leave.

Martins: Wait a minute. Let me out.
Calloway: Well, there’s not much time.
Martins: One can’t just… leave. Please.
Calloway: Be sensible, Martins.
Martins: Haven’t got a sensible name, Calloway.

(THE THIRD MAN is widely available via streaming or disk, including Blu-Ray editions )

ear•nest (adjective) Resulting from or showing sincere and intense conviction.

Forgive my play on words, but one of the late Ernest Borgnine’s finer qualities as an actor was, indeed, yes — his earnestness. Sincerity. Conviction. Borgnine brought both to the many roles he played in movies and television. Two examples:

In one of the best, most thoroughly entertaining World War II films (if any war movie can be termed ‘entertaining’), THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967), I have a sense that Borgnine plays himself. He is a no-nonsense, professional soldier, General Sam Worden. Early in the picture as Worden explains to Major Reisman (Lee Marvin) the task he’s being given–to take 12 irredeemable inmates on a suicidal, behind-the-lines sabotage mission–Borgnine is hard-as-nails tough. He’ll have none of Marvin’s snide sarcasm, even though, as the movie progresses, we’ll see the mutual respect and understanding they have for each another.

“Well you hold it, right there. This war was NOT started for your private gratification! And you can be DAMN sure this Army isn’t being run for your personal convenience either!”

Nothing captures Borgnine’s basic affability (despite the bulldog-like barking) better than the war games sequence, during which he gives a knowing wink and a nod to Lee Marvin’s gang’s clever but barely permissable shenanigans. Realizing just what the Dozen are up to, and he, himself, probably having seen it (and done it) all before, he can’t help himself from showing his jolly, inner core. It seems very unfeigned, and it’s a terrificly memorable moment from Borgnine–one of the best in a movie that has plenty of great ones.

So then, how could anyone not like Ernest Borgnine. Well, in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953), he plays Sgt. Judson, better known, unaffectionately, as “Fatso” (but yet it’s a moniker he can deal with, in more ways than one). Fatso is in charge of the stockade. He has a reputation, a very bad one, and everyone is aware of it. Borgnine shows his amazing range in this role, making us really and truly despise this lowlife, bigoted bully who abuses his power. (Of course, a bravura performance from Frank Sinatra (as Maggio) helps, too.)

Fatso has set up a nice little fiefdom for himself, one in which he’s free to dole out whatever physical punishment he chooses, while his superiors, who are aware of it, apparently look the other way. The sheer ease with which Borgnine pulls-off this out-of-character role is something to behold. He barely smiles in any of his scenes. But when Borgnine does, it’s somehow not the ingratiating grin we’re used to (as in THE DIRTY DOZEN, above). He makes Fatso into an unquestionably unlikable character–not a single redeeming quality (“I’m gonna cut this Wop’s heart out…”), and then makes it a pleasure for us to watch him get brought down to size by (brilliant) Burt Lancaster. Fatso’s met his match and knows it, but within seconds he’s back to his old, despicable self, taunting and name-calling Maggio once again (“Tough monkey…”).

Sincerity and conviction. It’s found in Borgnine’s other films, too. JOHNNY GUITAR, FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX, MARTY, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, and many others.  But if you and/or your friends and family haven’t seen him in anything but McHale’s Navy, you can’t do any better than to start with these two, outstanding films. (FROM HERE TO ETERNITY and THE DIRTY DOZEN are both widely available, including on Netflix and iTunes.) 

To celebrate this 4th of July, 2012 week, you could watch one of the few films about the Revolutionary War. I can’t recommend 1776, however (“The Eagle, The Turkey, The Dove”?? No, thanks!). Maybe James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy.

You might though, want to delve into the films of John Ford. Ford respected Native Americans, but didn’t always take an even-handed approach (“the audience wants to see them get killed”). He also tended to embellish quite a bit (“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend” –a famous line from THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE— could apply to Ford’s point of view.), and he was notably cantankerous and curmudgeonly (see the clip, below, where Peter Bogdanovich attempts to interview him). But his movies were always representative of America and Americans, with their good points and bad.

Here are just five of John Ford’s greatest, typically “American” films you can’t go wrong with, and some things you may or may not know about each of them. The quotes are from Bogdanovich’s 1968 book, titled “John Ford”.

1. Ford directed only one, excellent segment of the sprawlingly epic HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1962; James Stewart, Debbie Reynolds; “The Ford episode, about the Civil War, is uncommonly good” –Johnathan Rosenbaum), but he was unhappy with the Cinerama process (three strips of film melded together on a wide and curved theater screen):

“It’s worse than CinemaScope, because the ends curl on moving shots and the audience moves instead of the picture. I didn’t care for it.”

2. For one of his greatest Westerns, MY DARLING CLEMENTINE (1946; Victor Mature, Henry Fonda, Linda Darnell; “an American classic” –Leonard Maltin), Ford had some input from an expert: Wyatt Earp himself:

“In the very early silent days, a couple of times a year, [Earp] would come up to visit pals, cowboys he knew in Tombstone… I used to give him a chair and a cup of coffee, and he told me about the fight at the O.K. Corral. So we did it exactly the way it had been.”

3. He regrets that one, particular scene was cut from the outstanding YOUNG MR. LINCOLN (1939; Henry Fonda; “A film which indisputably has the right to be called Americana” –New York Times)

“I had a lovely scene in which Lincoln rode into town on a mule, passed by a theater and stopped to see what was playing, and it was the Booth Family doing Hamlet… [Booth] looked at this funny, incongruous man in a tall hat riding a mule, and you knew there was some connection there. They cut it out–too bad.”