Have You Seen .... by David Thomson Part 8 - Anatomy of a Murder, The Piano and The Apartment

 

I never thought I would say this, but the black and white photography for Anatomy of a Murder is fabulous, seemed almost at times to be in almost 3D. The  film is quite theatrical in it's presentation, especially the settings. James Stewart has been fishing, and when the housekeeper opens the fridge, it is packed full of his catch. The movie itself is virtually all dialogue courtesy of Wedel Mayes adaptation of the famous novel by Justice John D Voelker about one of his murder trials. 

Otto Preminger produced and directed with some big stars in the cast including Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick and George C Scott. But I thought it was Eve Arden who was the acting class act in a smaller role. Then we have James Stewart in the nightclub playing piano alongside ......yes, Duke Ellington. I preferred the first half of the film to the following predictable and a little boring courtroom drama. I thought it petered out and that the ending was terrible. Well, we were in 1959. David Thomson enjoyed it more: "It's not going too far to call this film perfect ....". 

I had purposefully avoided this Palme d'Or award winning movie, but it's inclusion in David Thomson's book had me intrigued. Written and directed by Jane Campion, it certainly has more atmosphere than excitement. Holly Hunter is the best thing here, her mute character is all facial expression, but mainly in anger or in hostility. Arriving on the shore of new Zealand, her piano is left on the beach, too much to carry through the steep forest. Meeting her new husband Sam Neil, she is drawn back to the piano which she plays with splendour. There is little plot, just a character study that makes the film quite slow and ponderous. 

The cinematography (Stewart Dryburgh) was excellent and would have been better on a big screen. Although the ending was as bleak as most of this movie. Holly Hunter won the best actress Oscar, Anna Paquin best support as the daughter and Campion for her script. David Thomson says "I think it is a fascinating story of pride and need, solitude and alliance, on which the stark beauty of New Zealand locations offsets the perilous state of these pilgrims. It is more usefully seen as surreal than as naturalistic". Not sure what that means, but I'm not a film critic.

I had never before seen this 1960 multiple Oscar award winning movie. Now I know why. I really don't think it has stood the test of time. The whole concept of Jack Lemmon letting colleagues use his apartment for assignations with various women, just to gain promotion at work, seems these days  to be more than seedy. OK, the screenplay by Billy Wilder and his long term associate I A L Diamond is quite clever, but the acting is fairly old fashioned. The only good parts are those which involve Jack and Shirley MacLaine. Their interaction is warm and the dialogue fizzes nicely. Shame it was not just a two hander. Even David Thomson (having to include it because of all those Oscars?) says it "feels very sour, with an unconvincing happy ending tacked on. It's world is unrelievedly bleak".