Page 8- The ichigan Daily - Monday, October 26, 1992

Pesci's
Weegee
shoots
and scores
by Michael John Wilson
The overlooked new release
"The Public Eye" provides a new
twist on a familiar film noir theme:
a cynical loner is tempted to give
in to a beautiful woman. It's a type
that Humphrey Bogart was-born to
play, the world-weary cafe owner
in "Casablanca" or the hard-boiled
detective of "The Maltese Falcon."
But Joe Pesci? As a photographer?
It works. The photographer,
capturing reality without becom-
ing involved in it, is a job per-
The Public Eye
Directed and written by Howard
Franklin; with Joe Pesci and Barbara
Hershey
fectly suited for an alienated hero.
Add Pesci's surprisingly under-
stated performance and a convinc-
ingly moody '40s setting, and
"The Public Eye" is the best new
film noir since "The Grifters."
Pesci plays Bernzy, a freelance
New York tabloid photographer
known as "The Great Bernzini"
for his ability to take the pictures
no one else can. He's got a special
interest in shooting murders. Ar-
riving at the scene of a crime even
before the cops do, Bernzy poses
the corpses for aesthetic purposes
and replaces the deceased's hat
because "people like to see a hat
on a dead guy."
Bernzy the photographer is re-
ally the classic detective antihero,
moving freely among the cops and
crooks without becoming too in-
volved with either. Transposing
the role onto a photographer, how-
ever, adds many rich levels to the
drama. Instead of shooting crimi-
nals, Bernzy "shoots" pictures of
murder victims. As other movies
about photographers ("Blow Up,"
"Peeping Tom") have shown, pho-
tography itself can be a kind of
violence, and Franklin's script

'Discrete' has real
Continental appeal
by Megan Abbott
The French seem to have a monopoly on small, bittersweet films about
ennui-laden couples who spend inordinate amounts of time in cafes. When
these films are done well, they can be delightful.
"La Discrete" tells the story of the rakish Antoine (Fabrice Luchini), a
parliamentary aide and frustrated writer, who revels in seducing and
discarding a string of beautiful women. When his latest lover rejects him for
another man before he can break it off with her, he is mortified.
Enter Jean (Maurice Garrel), a friend of Antoine's who is editing a
collection of intimate diaries. He suggests Antoine act out his revenge and
La Discrete
Directed by Christian Vincent; written by
Christian Vincent and Jean-Pierre Ronssin;
with Fabrice Luchini, Judith Henry, Maurice Gorel
record it in a diary for publication. The revenge plot Jean proposes involves
Antoine seducing an unsuspecting woman with the sole intention of
abandoning her just when she falls in love with him.
The unsuspecting woman is the unattractive young Catherine (Judith
Henry). However, when Antoine's lothario techniques do not send the prac-
tical and straightforward Catherine into a swoon, he finds himself suddenly
intrigued. The question becomes, who is manipulating whom? Who is
falling for whom?
The charm of "La Discrete" comes from its sly humor. Antoine fashions
himself as a dry, clever ladies' man, but the film exposes him as a
misogynistic egoist, given to long treatises on such topics as the famous
French child-killer Gilles de Rais, or "women in pants." "La Discrete"
pokes fun at him, as does Fabrice Luchini in his wry performance.
But the real vitality and wit in "La Discrete" radiates from Judith Henry.
as Catherine. Henry, who looks a little like a cross between Anjelica Huston
and Anais Nin, is ironically cast as a very plain woman who we slowly
realize (as Antoine does) is quite captivating indeed. Henry is never plain,
however. Her Catherine brims over with vibrancy and humanity. She sees
through Antoine's charm straight to his heart.
The only elemental problems in "La Discrete" lie in the cheery vague-
ness it employs in the middle third. We are never quite sure when it is that
Antoine loses his bearings and falls for Catherine. And we wish to know
more about his enigmatic domestic situation and his relationship with Jean.
Moreover, there are points when we wish Catherine were stronger and more
resolute.
These problems aside, "La Discrete" is most enjoyable, especially when
it ignores pretension and merely teases, entertains, and, in the end, even sur-
prises. If this were an American film, the ending would have all the subtlety
of a "Pretty Woman" or a "Frankie and Johnny." But "La Discrete" refuses
to make things easy for us; the light story earns the much more realistic end-
ing we are given. Characters pay for their manipulation. "La Discrete" in-
sists we face the inievitable result of the game we enjoyed so lightheartedly.
LA DISCRETE is playing at the Michigan Theater.
Musical hits the right Marx

al

Kasischke

Literally
strugging
like hell

,,

Joe Pesci points and shoots as Bernzy/Weegee in "The Public Eye."

adroitly exploits the irony.
The character is based on real-
life '40s photographer Arthur
"Weegee" Fellig, but the script by
writer/ director Howard Franklin
in "Quick Change" is fictional.
Franklin's invention takes
Weegee/Bernzy into business with
Kay (Barbara Hershey), an attrac-
tive femme fatale caught between
warring Mafia families and a
wartime scandal. In the tradition
of Raymond Chandler, the intri-
cate plot is utterly incomprehensi-
ble. At its worst, "The Public Eye"
lulls the audience to sleep with
boring details about the Spoletos
versus the Farinellis, but ulti-
mately Pesci's character and
Franklin's glamorous '40s setting
are enough to make the film work.
Pesci's performance proves
he's an even better actor than first
thought. In the past supporting
roles, he seemed to vary between

loud-mouthed, violent maniacs
(his Oscar-winning role in
"Goodfellas," "Raging Bull") to
loud-mouthed, wacky caricatures
("Home Alone," "Lethal Weapon
2 & 3," "My Cousin Vinny").
Here, like the darkened settings
around him, he plays it low-key,
and manages to carry an entire
movie.
Most remarkably, Franklin's
film is truly a film anoir in color.
The muted tones and ornate set-
tings create a mood that perfectly
mirrors that of Bernzy's black-
and-white stills (actually by
Weegee and other photographers).
With Mark Isham's melancholy
score in the background, "The
Public Eye" is almost hypnotizing
- a tempting, seductive spell in
the dark.

THE PUBLIC
Showcase.

EYE is playing at

t

The Investment Banking Division
of
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
cordially invites the students
of THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
to an information session on careers
in In vestment Banking.
We encourage all majors to attend!!!
Monday, October 26, 1992
MICHIGAN UNION
KUENZEL ROOM
6:00 p.m.
Party at Pizzeria Uno to follow

by Jason Carroll
The perfect word to describe the
University's production of "A Day
in Hollywood/A Night in the
Ukraine" would be hilarious. I can't
remember the last time I laughed so
much.
The show is actually a musical
double feature. The first part, "A
Day in Hollywood," features six
ushers who serenade great hits from
Hollywood musicals, in front of
Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
The most interesting aspect of
"Hollywood" is the ankle stage.
During certain parts in the show, the
roof of Grauman's rose to expose an
upper stage, on which many famous
dancers strutted their stuff from the
waist down. Many different person-
alities graced the ankle stage, such
as Charlie Chaplin, Madonna, and
Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz."
Sometimes, since we only saw the
actor's legs and feet, they created the
clever illusion of defying gravity.
"Hollywood" is extremely light-
hearted and included a vast amount
of intricate dance numbers. Many of
the ankle stage dances were perfectly
synchronized with the ushers who
were dancing on the lower stage.
Kate Guyton delivered the best
line of the night while sarcastically
singing to her two-dimensional
(literally) lover, Nelson, "his hair is-
n't the only thing that goes limp!"
"A Night in the Ukraine" is a
Marx Brothers movie that never was.
The farce revolved around a rich
widow who owes some money to a

sleazy lawyer (Groucho). Most of
the jokes, like "somebody wrapped a
skirt around the battleship Po-
temkin," dealt with the portly stature
of the widow.
Granted, some of the jokes were
pretty lame, but that type of comedy
is a staple of the Marx Brothers'
A Day in Hollywood/
A Night in the Ukraine
Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
October22, 1992
films. Most of the humor came
across visually, not aurally. For in-
stance, there is a comical scene in
which Gino encounters his own re-
flection. He desperately tries to
shake it for over five minutes, with-
out ever peeping one word.
Director Tim Millett evidently
worked very hard with his cast. They
all seem comfortable and relaxed in
their roles, even during the difficult
dance routines. Warren Lehmkuhle's
sets for both shows were extremely
spectacular. Grauman's Theatre in-
cluded many doors and windows,
making it versatile. Lehnikuhle's
"Ukraine" set was completely black
and white, making it seem as if you
were watching the film back in the
'30s. Ingenious lighting effects
added to this period feeling.
Overall, although the two shows
seem to contrast in content, they
combine technically and artistically
to provide an enjoyable evening of
theater.

by Darcy Lockman
Everybody that Laura Kasischke
knows is "struggling like hell."
Well, not literally everybody, but
rather her fellow poets. In a profes-
sion where only the lucky publish,
and only the published survive,
Kasischke recently joined the ranks
of the lucky survivors with the pub-
licatioti of her first book of poetry.
Of course, Kasischke's success in-
volved more than just luck. "I
worked a long time for this," she
said.
The judges of the Elmer Holmes
Bobst Award for Emerging Writers
rewarded her efforts by granting
Kasischke first prize for the collec-
tion of poems, she called "Wild
Brides," first prize being the
publication of that collection.
Her poetry is perhaps not what
one might expect of a poet of the late
20th century. The imagery she uses
is gothic, red, and bloody, as if set-
ting the mood for an Edgar Allen
Poe story. "I've always been at-
tracted to medieval literature, to
paintings of medieval icons. They
touch my imagination more than (
pastoral images," she explained.
Kasischke's poetry, in its sim-
plest reading, could never be called
happy or hopeful. Some of it is
funny, but more of it is painful, re-
plete with death, blood, and anxiety.
Nevertheless, you want to keep .
reading, as the title of the next poem
catches your eye. Anticipation of
what may be found under that next
title' makes reading one more poem
unavoidable, until the whole book is
read.
Does Kasischke have a hard time
sharing her highly personal work
with the world? "It's hard (emo-
tionally) to publish. I envy short
story writers because they can hide
behind a character." Not that every
poem is from personal experience. "I
wrote one poem about a woman who
kills her lover with a bowling ball. I
never did that," she said.
Kasischke doesn't contain her
poetry in the cage of set rhythm and
meter, but uses free verse and scram-
bled internal rhyme instead. This
enhances her non-traditional themes
and lets the reader concentrate on
her words rather than lulling one to
sleep with a monotonous beat.
Every poet Laura Kasischke;
knows is a struggling artist, and she
gives herself the same title. Only
now, Kasischke is a struggling artist
with an important distinction. She
has a book on the shelf with her
name on the cover.
LAURA KASISCHKE will read from.
"Wild Brides" this afternoon at 4
p.m. at the Rackham Amphitheatre.
Admission is free.


SLEEPER
Continued from page 5
Christ" and "Platoon"), but never
before has he seemed so real and so
very human. He's the kinder, gentler
drug dealer. It is Dafoe's quiet depth
that gives "Light Sleeper" its heart.
Moreover, Susan Sarandon's Ann
is a winning, smart hustler, with the
savvy of all the best capitalists. Dana

Delany proves more than worthy of
the big screen, her tour on "China
Beach" proving good training for the
dark world of "Light Sleeper."
But the true credit for "Light
Sleeper" lies with Schrader. With
this film he brings to life a kind of
"New York of the soul." Granted, it
is not perfect. There are a few plot
holes, and the piling garbage
metaphor (there is a city-wide strike

of sanitation-workers) is a little too
convenient. However, these are mi-
nor points when you look at the
charged and wildly powerful vision
Schrader offers us. It is a gift to the
audience. In a year when few movies
have had courage or grace, "Light
Sleeper" breaks your heart.
LIGHT SLEEPER is playing at the
Ann Arbor 1&2 through Thursday.

IN THE ARMY,
NURSES AREN'T JUST IN DEMAND.
THEY'RE IN COMMAND.
Any nurse who just wants a job can with your level of experience. As
findnnP , it nai 'rm a n tirc- anA rmv ,nffrr 'Ifll rnnvnmnA rt

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