The Michigan Daily - Monday, December 9, 1991 - Page 7 Jane Campion directs unsweetened Angel An Angel at My Table dir. Jane Campion .r. by Aaron Hamburger In French, the word for genius, geniale, can also mean insane. Psychologists who study brilliant but mad geniuses often wonder whether the madness of certain artists is real, or merely a popular misconception. In the case of New Zealand author Janet Frame, the misdiagnosis of schizophrenia led to eight years of hell in a mental asylum. Frame recorded her remarkable story in a three-part autobiography, which, though she has written several excellent novels and short stories, may be her greatest work. Frame's asset as a writer is her startlingly frank, direct style. Without the use of melodrama or "artsy" flourishes, Frame simply relates a thorough and fascinating account of her life. Director Jane Campion (Sweetie) strives to recreate Frame's simple style in her film version of Frame's autobiography, An Angel at My Table. In stark contrast to current films like My Girl and The Doctor, Angel is disarmingly unsentimental. Campion shows a series of experiences which comprise Frame's life without telling her audience how to react. The film, however, evokes pity and fear - the classic elements of tragedy - due to the natural power of the material. As a child, Frame was separated from her peers by her shy nature, her quiet intelligence and her mass of shaggy red curly hair. Campion uses Frame's huge curls as an effective, immediate symbol of her separation from the mainstream. When she went to college, Frame became increasingly withdrawn, hid- ing herself and all traces of her existence, even her sanitary napkins, from those around her. The death of Frame's sister, as wells as various financial and career worries, led to a nervous breakdown, which a pompous psychol- ogy professor misinterpreted as schizophrenia. Frame was subjected to eight years of electro-schock therapy in a mental asylum and was on the verge of having a lobotomy when her collection of short stories, The Lagoon, was published and won a literary award. Frame was released from the hospital, and she published her first novel and re- ceived a literary grant to travel to Europe, where she had her first love af- fair and recovered from her harrowing years in the asylum. Unlike Jodie Foster's recent Little Man Tate, which also deals with a creative genius' existentialist separation from the world, Angel does not resort to a slapdash happy ending in which the hero learns to become an av- erage Joe, perfectly happy and surrounded by loads of friends. Frame ulti- mately realizes that she can never have a "normal" life because of her ge- nius, but she learns to accept this and find her own unique realm of con- tentment. Frame is played by three actresses, who play the author at different stages of her life. Alexia Keogh (Young Janet), Karen Fergusson (Teenage Janet) and Kerry Fox (Adult Janet) are all excellent, and all bear an un- canny resemblance to one another. Fox is especially good, and manages to show Frame's inner feelings, which she hides from the world under layers of shyness and fear. The rest of the cast, who only have small supporting roles, shine as well, briefly but completely illuminating each character which Frame encounters over the course of her life. Campion's imaginative direction is matched by her arresting visual style. Angel is filled with original and captivating images which linger long after the film is over. Though Angel is a bit too long, and a few scenes are so subtle that they become unintelligible, on the whole, this film re- veals the promise of the future career of its outstanding director. AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE is playing at the Ann Arbor I & 2 JERK Continued from page 5 "You never know it until you read it." Martin just takes good roles as they come, with no pretensions to genius. He even admits, "I still. think I'm fairly new as an actor. I've In Father of the Bride, there are plenty of hilarious scenes that only Steve Martin could do. Yet what stands out just as much are the sober, natural moments of family life ... His performance is so truthful, so sincere, that it brings to mind the actor who originally played the Father of the Bride: the great Spencer Tracy been doing it about eleven years in film, and I have a lot to learn." In the craft of the Hollywood comedy, Martin will be fondly re- membered as one of the great ones. And he's got decades of work ahead of him. But if he died tomorrow, what would Martin want his epi taph to read? "Boy, wat he rich." FAThER OF THE BRIDE op December 20 and GRAM CANYON opens December 25. TREK' Continued from page 5 was great because it brought back a classic villain in Kahn, a perfect foil for Kirk, quoting literature while battling with the Enterprise ("From hell's heart I stab at thee.") Kirk's rival in Star Trek VI, Klingon General Chang (Christopher Plum- mer), can barely speak without quoting Shakespeare. This is another classic villain, expressing his admi- ration for Kirk as a fellow warrior, and saying "Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the dogs of war" and "I am as con- stant as the northern star" while firing on the Enterprise. This film is touted as the last Star Trek movie - really. While RECORDS groans of disbelief are justified, this really does seem like the end. The crew is about to be deactivated at the end of the film, there's a sappy monologue by Kirk about the next crew to take over the Enterprise, the treaty with the Klingons is the link needed to join the world of Kirk with the world of Picard, and Scotty and Uhura won't fit into their uniforms at the rate they're going. Besides, the next film would be odd-numbered, and it would be heart-breaking to end the series with a movie as bad as Star Trek V instead of a classic like Star Trek VI. But then again ... STAR TREK VI is playing at Briarwood and Showcase. Continued from page 5 "I Spit On You" has the most memorable title - slightly more memorable than the rest of the songs in general. It has a good beat and a cool synthesized bass line. The drumming sounds vaguely like Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like A Hole," while the bass has the style of New Order. But on a second note, what makes the cut good is its similarity to other bands' songs. And on this song, the vocals are especially phlegm-coated. In a way, the song personifies the Swamp Terrorists, as it is danceable and harsh, yet uncre- ative and full of murky ooze. -Erika Kao Chrissy Steele Magnet To Steele Chrysalis Claiming to incorporate influ- ences from opera, classical music and the hard rock super-groups Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Chrissy Steele has cut a debut album which leaves the listener wondering how. If Bach had anything to do with this, he's probably glad to be dead. On the album, Steele works with primarily two sounds, a crude Pat Benetar imitation and a convincing replication of Brian Johnson's AC/DC vocals. In either case, she seems to lack any quality which sep- arates her from a thousand other hard rockers. There are a couple of tracks in which Steele lets down her Martin "rough and ready" vocal facade. The effort is appreciable, but again, somewhat short of fantastic. Comprised of simple guitar riffs and solos, music on the album is sufficient back up for the solo artist. A single hard rock style is present over every track on the al- bum, despite intros to one or two songs which utilize keyboards and effects that have a Steve Stevens/Billy Idol ring to them. These, too, fall back on Steele's hard rock formula. Lyrically, there isn't a song included which doesn't fit the love song or broken heart mol4, After 11 tracks, this becomes tir- ingly apparent. Given such noble in- fluences, Magnet To Steele has a lpt to live up to. -David Groves CLASSIFIED ADS ....GOIG c.ACE DOSE BOWL. AIR ONLY- LA from $438, full package from $831-quad. Call Irene, Kim, or Ann at Regency Travel, 665- 6122. ROSE BOWL ACCOMMODATIONS - BEACH HOUSE. Located near Disneyland & Rose Bowl, sleeps 12. Call 714/721-8896, for info. SKI IN BRECKENRIDGE, COLORADO for Spring Break. 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