ARTS *The Michigan Daily Tuesday, November 13, 1990 Page 5 Two gangsters and a mom The new Dead? Blues Traveler not just 'Dropping Some NYC' I ...i v The Krays dir. Peter Medak by Gregg Flaxman T here is a scene midway through the new gangster film The Krays where Violet Kray (Billie Whiteshaw) asks her twin sons and a room full of well- dressed Londoners to check their shoes to see if they've trailed any- thing onto the carpet. Everyone checks their soles and thanks Mrs. Kray for the tea and biscuits she's brought; when the firm, smiling woman leaves, the men get down to the business of decid- ing who to kill. It is this bizarre and often hi- larious juxtaposition of brutal politics and maternal authority that makes Peter Medak's new gangster psychodrama unique at a time and in a genre where it has to be. In the wake of countless Mafia films, The Krays will probably be overlooked: it isn't as expansive or hedonistic as Goodfellas and it lacks the car- toonish feel and humor of Miller's Crossing. But this dis- tinctly English rendition offers a perverse twist on an old Hollywood standard.{ Based on John Pearson's book, The Profession of Violence, The Krays is the true1 story of brothers Ronald and Reginald Kray (Gary and Martin Kemp respectively), from their wartime childhood to post-war ex-I travagance as London gangsters. The brothers - during their glamorous tenure and until the present day - have been an ob- ject of English obsession. Asked if he knows the Beatles, Ronald' says, "No, but I believe they1 know us." Phillip Ridley's script deals less with the Krays as a cultural and national phenomenon than as the strange result of a domineer- ing mother and her female clan that inspire loyalty, sensitivity, and excessive violence in the boys. The film is a Freudian field day; both sons worship their mother, yet their relationships with women are anything but normal. Ronald, the true psy- chopath of the two, is homosex- ual - an orientation which, in the eyes of the film, is a psycho- sexual deviance. No gangster film has ever ap- proached violence with such a purely psychological slant. Medak's film is intent on estab- lishing the Krays' thirst for vio- lence less as a convention of the underworld than as a kind of re- verse misogyny. The source of this deflection is ultimately Violet Kray, whose appearance invokes the smell of mothballs, yet whose unyielding belligerence is, especially towards her hus- band, almost castrating. But Violet is also the cipher of The Krays. She is a woman who ex- horts her sons to strength but re- fuses to ever ask for what purpose that strength is used. She remains (intentionally?) ignorant of the depths to which her sons, who enjoy brandishing large sabers, have sunk. The problem with The Krays lies in its very originality - the familial insights take over the film, while the gang rivalries, the Kray association with the American Mafia and the internal struggles of "The Firm" are never explored adequately. Even psy- chopathic rage needs a backdrop. The only vague explanation of how the brothers ever got into the Mafia is provided by a ridicu- lously short prison scene. In this sense, Alex Thompson's (Excalibur) photog- raphy seems, at times, slightly too epic for the premise of the film. Still, The Krays is visu- ally stunning. The violence is es- pecially well-handled. When Reginald savagely pummels two men against his forest green Jaguar, his wife Frances (Kate Hardie) sits inside the car horri- fied, with the music turned up full blast, her face smeared against the windows in agony. Thompson and Medak make sure the film is never boring to view. Gary and Martin Kemp, mem- bers of British pop band Spandau Ballet, are chillingly effective as the twisted twins. Gary Kemp as the sadistic, dark, and deranged Ronald is particularly convincing, and his resentment of Reginald's wife is unspoken but potent. The two are especially good when in- teracting with Whitelaw's tena- cious but homey Violet. But too often the gangsters in general and rival gangster Cornell (Steve Berkoff) in particular fall into simply yelling their lines in- discriminately while bearing their teeth and gums to the camera, as if the audience was comprised solely of dental hygenists. This is in part due to the dialogue, which has a tendency to become trite or inane. When Aunt Rose (Susan Fleetwood) talks about the privi- leged WWII soldiers who had it good in their "gleaming planes and tanks" compared with the burden the English housewife shouldered, Ridley has taken his quasi-feminism too far. But when it doesn't tread too far into absur- dity, The Krays is both bizarre and compelling. THE KRAYS is showing at Showcase and Briarwood. "We're a nineties band now, but in ten years we'll be zeros. What are we gonna call that decade anyway?" Blues Traveler vocalist/harmonicaist John Popper wondered. by Andrew J. Cahn Even in the pouring rain, hundreds of fans stretching three blocks down Hudson Street outside of New York's Wetlands were waiting until Fledgling group puts film InFocus by Susan Uselmann N othing can be as frustrating as the inability to express your own creative thoughts and ideas. At such a large university, this is a common dilemma, especially in the world of film and video production. In lieu of this inaccessibility to student creativity and expression, a new student film cooperative has been formed. InFocus Filmworks is a fledgling organization which helps students improve their technique as well as art form in filmmaking. Sun-ho Lee, the coordinator of InFocus, explains the idea behind the group. "There is a certain sense of isolation that helps everyone express their ideas yet get away from the bu- reaucratic department," says Lee. Although only a month old, the independent organization has grown from its original five to approxi- mately 50 students. Every Thursday evening at 6 p.m. the group brain- storms in 1008 Freize. Operating as a social collective, the members talk about their ideas of productions or stories. To Lee, this is a more cre- ative outlet than what is available through the departments of Communications and Film/Video. The purpose of InFocus is to provide production experience for those interested in the world of film and video. Only half of the mem- bers, however, are actually Film/Video majors. The group is for everyone, just as the films they pro- duce are for everybody to watch. "Our primary idea is to provide a network of people and their interests, in which students can work as a co- hesive group," Lee says. "It provides an audience of peers, bringing the real world down to a small micro- cosm while being able to make con- tacts for future involvements in the film world." Unfortunately, the organization must presently rely purely on funds and donations. Presently, all equip- ment either belongs to members or is acquired on a temporary basis. Lee other forms of cultural expression. In this sense, the song seems out of place. But 187 and K.M.G. do engage in an admirable feat by making Soundgarden's Chris Cornell sound weak when their anti-oppression tirade leads into Cornell's compara- tively inferior screams of "Heretic! Burn at the stake!" from "Heretic." This not even one of the band's bet- ter tunes. Sonic Youth's "Titanium Expos6" and the Junkies' cover of Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil Blues" are better choices. It might be worth the price of purchase just to hear Concrete Blonde's Johnette Napolatino sneer- ingly sing one of the most truthful verses ever recorded: "Everybody knows that you've been faithful/ give or take a night or two/ Everybody knows you've been dis- creet/ So many people you had to meet/ Without your clothes." (from Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows") And as an extra added hbnn listeners can hear Bad Brains' hopes they will be able to get their own equipment in the future so they do not have to be dependent upon the little that they have at the moment. On the first Thursday of every month, InFocus holds a student film showing, the first of which occurs on the first of November. It is open to everyone, and features a variety of clips from different artists. Although presently the organization consists only of students, Lee said she would like to add local independent artists to the list, as the purpose of InFocus is to express all types of creativity: "I want this to be the independent film work in Ann Arbor and for it to include everything from main stream commercials to the avant-garde." they could get in to see their favorite band, Blues Traveler, one night at the end of this past summer. A set they played while opening for Little Feat absolutely blew me away a week before, but when I saw that line I realized that I would have to wait to see them play a full show. Needless to say, when I heard that they were planning to play at an Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity party Saturday night, I decided that some- how I was going to weasel my way in there. Thank you, Michigan Daily. When Blues Traveler took the stage at 9 p.m., these four sloppily- dressed New Yorkers immediately hit the tightly-packed crowd with the improvisational grooves that earned them respect after the release of their self-titled debut album. Of the un- predictable changes present in many of their numbers, guitarist Chan Kinchla explained, "It just comes from a lot of the different riffs we like to us. It's fun to surprise people and jar the rhythm like that. It keeps things shakin'." In the front of the band was singer/harmonica player John Popper, who wore around his neck one of those multi-compartment ammo holders, in which he stored not only his harps, but also what he called "anti-personnel grenades" which he said would be activated later in the evening. Although Popper's singing and harp playing is featured in practically each of Blues Traveler's songs, in a nearly 30- minute version of their song "Sweet Talkin' Hippie" the band stopped playing so the vocalist could let loose on his own. Deep into his solo, Popper put the harmonica away and simply made percussive noises with his mouth while directing the fans to clap along with him. Incidentally, he is so capable on his instrument that he can argue with a soundman on stage while playing and not miss a beat. Eventually, the band re-entered, following the beat created by the party-goers. Throughout the night, there did not seem to be any pre-set formula for the show. As drummer Brendan Hill explained, "We take a different approach to every show, and try to give the people something different every night." The songs they do play are determined by bassist Bobby Sheehan. Why is this? "It sort of just occurred," Sheehan said. With their synthesis of improvisational blues with heavy funk, many fans feel Blues Traveler sound like a cross between Living Colour and the Dead. About this analogy, John said, "I think we sound more like a combi- nation of that new band from New York who sing that song 'Cult of Personality,' and that real old band [who sing] 'Truckin."' "Actually," he continued, "the New Yorkers say we are a garage band attempt at our appreciation of jazz through the reality of rock 'n' roll. I think Elvis said it best when he said, 'huh!"' There were some technical prob- lems with the show, such as a power failure which quite ironically pre- vented the band from playing acous- tic numbers. But when they con- cluded the show at one a.m. with a funky version of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and a double-time "Johnny B. Goode," none of mem- bers of either Alpha Epsilon Pi or Sigma Chi, who produced the show, as well as the others who attended via invitations or various clandestine ways were disappointed. In the words of Alpha Epsilon Pi member Jeff Jacobs, "These guys are such a cool band, and my kids are gonna be listening to them. When I tell them that they played at my house in college, they're gonna say, 'Dad, you're so cool!'" As for the band's outlook on their future, as they say in their tune "But Anyway," "I see a new day dawning/ I like to sleep late, oh well, but anyway..." - w 1 IIRT HE0 - Health Care Clinic of Ann Arbor 3012 Packard " 971-1970 THE Mom AMIL i Various Artists Pump Up the Volume MCA Like so many other movies these *days, perhaps the strongest point of Pump Up the Volume (with the ob- vious exception of Christian Slater's voice) is the soundtrack. Hey, Soundgarden and the Cowboy Junkies got billing right alongside Slater in the movie's advertisements. Poor co-star Samantha Mathis was left for unknown. Not that either of these bands de- serve this attribution when it is Above the Law's "Freedom of Speech," and Bad Brains' version of "Kick out the Jams" that make the album. Like the majority of the tunes on the soundtrack, "Freedom of Speech" is not an. unreleased track. Unlike the other tunes on the soundtrack, "Freedom of Speech" ac- tually has something to do with the movie. That's because the song, like the mmvP ise nhnt nttemntc to shut S igma Phi Epsilon CAMPUS-WIDE 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament Friday, November 16 $100 team /first prize $50 team/second prize Larry 663-8234 Matt 769-6372 We've got your number in the University of Michigan Student Telephone Directory. FREE OF CHARGE (T0 STUDENTS ONLY- ust show student I.D.) m