ARTS Rostropovich: a great disappointment by Kirk Wetters Mstislav Rostropovich is undoubtedly a great cellist and musician, but this only made his recital on Sunday more disappointing. It was difficult to reconcile this lackluster performance with the sensitivity and excitement of many of his recordings. The cello sonata of Richard Strauss got the program off to a less than auspicious start. While Rostropovich played well enough, his efforts didnot sufficiently redeem thepiece itself, which is bad even in comparison with other early Strauss works. Rostropovich produced an admirably beau- tiful sound, as he did throughout the concert, but his inter- pretation was bland and flawed by imprecise articulation. Mstislav Rostropovich Hill Auditorium January 10, 1993 A general problem throughout the concert was the obvious lack of communication between Rostropovich and his accompanist, Sara Wolfensohn. Without the flexibility of good chamber music, the performances often seemed lifeless and unmusical. Ideally, Wolfensohn should have had a more equal role. As it was, she was completely behind Rostropovich's back, and it appeared that they were me- chanically playing their parts, without concern for the musical dialogues within them. As the only genuine masterpiece on the program, Bach's Suite No. 5 for unaccompanied cello should have been the high point of the concert. Bach's cello suites are interpre- tively the most demanding pieces in the cello repertoire, and Rostropovich was not up to the challenge. The enormity of Hill Auditorium worked against him in this music, which should ideally be performed in a more intimate environ- ment, such as a living room. Although Rostropovich had numerous technical diffi- culties in the Bach, including faulty intonation, missed notes, and awkward attacks, these were the least of his problems. His interpretation was not refined enough to bring out the distinctive character of each movement. He was unable to translate Bach's long, flowing lines into the coherent musical ideas they should be. Instead Rostropovich made the suite into an overly long collection of formless mutterings. Even more disturbing-were his frequent heavy- handed distortions. In the Gavotte, for example, he was at his most perverse, turning Bach's mysterious, graceful dance into a lumbering, oafish affair. The concert's second half was not as disturbing as the first, but it was no more inspired. Rostropovich acquitted himselfnicelyinRachmaninov'ssappytrifle,the"Vocalise," but his performance of Shostakovich's cello sonata often seemed half-hearted and unidiomatic. There were signs of life in the final movements, but unfortunately Rostropovich never really managed to catch fire. V11 I 1111 l Richard Attenborough directs Robert Downey Jr., instead of the film. Downey dominates by Megan Abbott A meaningful, well-wrought screen biography is a rare phenomenon. For every accomplished biopic ("Malcolm X"), there are dozens more which be- come as tedious and episodic as a TV miniseries. The genre is a virtual landmine of cinematic confounds - from excessive length to composite characters to sheer ludicrousness (one critic bemoaned this as the "Hefe comes Beethoven" school of moviemaking). Chaplin Directed by Richard Attenborough; written by William Boyd, Bryan Forbes and William Goldman; with Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Kline. Indeed, trying to translate the life of a famed person into a motion picture in a coherent and artistic manner almost dooms good filmmakers to failure. How, after all, do you tell the story of a giant's life? Richard Attenborough's "Chaplin" tackles the dilemma with gusto. The ensuing failure of the film is certainly notdueto lack of effort or talent. Robert Downey Jr., the charming actor who previously seemed to be making a ca- reer out of unworthy films ("The Pick- Up Artist," "Chances Are"), stars as the cinematic genius, Charlie Chaplin. The film traces Chaplin's life from his Dickensian beginnings in turn-of-the- century London, to Hollywood star- dom, to haunted exiledom in Switzer- land. That's quite a scope for one fea- tune film to take on, but Attenborough, king of the crane shot ("Gandhi," "Cry Freedom"), seems determined to make it work. It doesn't. But "Chaplin" is not a disaster of "Hoffa" proportions either. Attenborough's clever use of silent fin techniques such as wipes and dissolves, not to mention a string of wonderful slapstick sequences, serves to connect Chaplin's life with his art. "Chaplin" attempts to tell much of the story of the comedian's life in the style of one of his movies. But Chaplin's genius as a fihn- maker is derived not solely from his use of physical comedy and Dickensian melodrama. Chaplin's political and so- cial criticism fuel much of his greatest work ("Modern Times," "The Great Dictator"). Unfortunately,Attenborough chooses to deal with Chaplin's politics in a largely tabloid fashion which is both reductiveanddismissive.Chaplin's political convictions are only touched on, while the screenplay actively as- sures us of Chaplin's true patriotism for the United States. Thisglossy, surfacestorytelling also penneates the exploration into Chaplin's private life. His romps with teenage starlets are treated sensationalistically, with plenty of gratuitous female nudity. 0 'All of this luridkiss-and-tell takes n so Chaplin slaving away in the editing room, without actually allowing us to see his magic at work. But much - if not most - of the failure of vision in "Chaplin" is made up for by the rather dazzling perfor- mance by Downey. The parade of other actors (Dan Aykroyd, Diane Lane, a lively Kevin Kline) passes by Downey, but you miss them all. You can't take your eyes off him. Aging from 19 to 83 during the course of the film, Downey manages this risky process with great subtlety. He imbues his young Chaplin with the same kind of melancholy beauty that the real Chaplin revealed in the quieter moments of his early films. You can see why people want to be around this sad-eyed genius, thanks to Downey's talents. The characters are drawn to Chaplin; his burgeoning ge- nius flickers in their faces while they work with him. Perhaps more remarkably, Downey captures the eventual world-weariness of the older Chaplin. Sadness deepens and settles with the passing years, as Downey portrays him. The thick cock- ney accent gives way to a polished voice as the young cinematic pioneer becomes a sophisticated millionaire. Downey's remarkable portrayal de- serves a better film. Film biographies are generally the best when they focus on a few years, or a crucial period in a person's life. Per- haps the best biopic in recent years, "Vincent and Theo," succeeds largely because it does not try to tell us the story of Van Gogh's entire life. Instead, ittries to show us a vision of what it's like to be Vincent, to be trapped in one's own genius. "Chaplin" is largely frustrating in its failure to have a vision, something to say about its hero. Like "Hoffa," it has nothing to prove. Downey's perfor- mance demands a rich vision of Chaplin's genius. One look into those smudged Tramp eyes and you can see he's still begging for the story tobe told. Chaplin is now playing at Briarwood and Showcase. Perhaps Mstislav Rostropovich should have practiced a little more before Sunday's concert. Funky-Butt Lovefest Get down and double-check, brothers and sisters. Detroit's finest postmod D(r)eadHead bottom-heavy vibe tribe Black Mali's gonna kick that motorbooty punk funk at The Blind Pig ((206 S. First St.) Wednes- day night. Also spicing up the festivi- ties with some groovy flavor of their own isA2'snew soulful crunch bunch, Motherlode. Doors at 9:00, 18 and over more than welcome. Dirty Looks at Lunch Karen Finley came to the Michi- gan Theater last year, got naked, and smeared her body with chocolate and alfalfa sprouts. She's one of the hot- testartists today, perhaps because she's at thecenteroftheN.EA.-Jesse Helms contraversy. Learn more about her tomorrow at noon at the UMMA . They're showing one of her taped performance pieces, in which she ex- amines traditional gender ideas. Brown bag lunches are encouraged officially, but you'll probably get dirty looks from the other watchers if you crinkle too loudly. Call 747-0521. rsA SPm INDO i iV rll fllii i T OAS to Ann Arbor! In concert at the Michigan Theater Wednesday, January 13 @ 7:30 p.m. *MUS KET** announces its winter production of i These fine titles are now on sale! $'7.99 cassette $11.99 CD prices good thru 1/17/93 We'll be open the night of the show, so stop by and see us. to be performed march 25, 26, & 27 NOW HIRING: ALL STAFF POSITIONS Director Music Director - , Scenic Designer Lighting Designer n . F The Cottage Inn at Packard & Hill (769-5555) will give away a FREE Spin Doctors poster alono- with vour nizza for all nrders delivered on camnus! I .1 I I