10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 19, 1998 Sisters' tale amazes on film Eliroy bringsin'Crime Wave'" ByEdShli5k By Laura Flyer Daily Arts Writer As the next century creeps up, we can reminisce about the movie industry with awe. Hollywood and independent film- makers have been able to work with a cre- ative medium that constantly reaches new dimensions, not just cinematically, but artistically and thematically. Old genres reappear, existing genres reinvent andnew genres innovate. Three (and a half) chees, in particular, for "Hilary and Jackie," an intense yet stunningly beautiful portraitrof twosisters immersed in conflicts of competition and envy, but also companionship and love. But the film works amazingly well due to the way it's pre- sented. Exquisite landscape shots within fluid, yet Hilary and active, scenes pro- Jackie duce breathtaking visuals, as though we are looking at a At Showcase series of pho- ard State tographs. In essence, that is exactly what we are doing. "Hilary and Jackie; direct- ed by Anand Tucker (also the 1997 director ofa biography ofAntoine de Saint-Exupery, called "Saint-Ex") trans- formed the autobiography/biography of the Du Pre sisters, "A Genius in the Family" written by Hilary and her brother Pies. He added depth to a story that could not have been achieved through their novel by presenting their lives from each of their perspectives, offering a distorted, yet insightful look into their relationship from both sides. At first, we get a glance of the Du Pre sisters' childhood. Jacqueline (Emily Watson), a cellist, shares a loving bond with her sister, Hilary (Rachel Griffiths), a flutist. On the other hand, Jackie cannot deal with the attention and praise Hilary receives from being a better musician than herself. Competitive constraints imbued by her parents ("If you want to be togeth- er, you've got to be as good as each other," says Iris Du Pre) only increase her jeal- ousy, and she forces herself to outdo her sister. As the sisters grow up and Jackie emerges as a renowned musician through- out Europe, the magical, surreal and yet ominously disturbing perspective from a child's vantage point shifts to the reality of the psychoses of these two characters. Hilary, now much older, develops the envious quality that her sister once had for her, and takes desperate measures to improve her mediocre musical skills, but with little success. She likely would have drowned in her insecurities had it not been for amiable Kiler (David Morrissey) to raise her esteem, and even make her "feel special." This support is exactly what Hilary needs and deserves, but so does Jackie, as we soon find out. Married to Daniel Barenboim, Jackie believes she is only being loved for her incredible talent. She subverts her loneliness andjealousy of her sister, saying such cruel words to Hilary as, "The truth is, you aren't special" and "If you didn't have that cello to prop you up, you'd be nothing." Meanwhile Jackie, deeply hurt but nevertheless level-headed, moves to the country with Kiffer. Jackie unfortunately loses what little dignity she has left and coaxes her sister into allowing her to sleep with Kiler. Hilary worries for her sister, and justifies her resignation by affirming that she is doing what is best for Jackie. Nevertheless, home video-like snippets of Jackie's manipulative obtrusiveness undoubtedly shed light upon the unhealthy situation at hand, and more sig- nificantly, the rising resentment that Hilary feels towards her sister. From here on, we witness the downfall of Jackie, as she falls victim to the degen- erative disease, multiple sclerosis. But in essence, Hilary and Jackie share a bond that no illness will ever break, and their relationship ensures that "everything will be alright." "Hilary and Jackie"therefore, is slight- ly steeped in melodrama, but maybe that comes with the baggage of beinga touch- ing tale of strong sisterly love surrounded by the romantic, almost poetic passion for classical music. Sure enough, the film plays up the piece Jackie is most famous for: Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor. What's interesting is that Jackie says at one point that she hates playing the cello, suggesting that she uses the instrument as a weapon, a defense against everything she confronts. Emily Watson, known for her stellar performance in "Breaking the Waves," is excellent, and Rachel Griffiths does a fine job as well. Even supporting actorsJames Frain and David Morrissey stand out with their individualized yet not overbearing personalities, who add flavor to script. The movie is remarkable in the way it uses clever camera technique (the everp- resent use of a wide-angle lens) to give added 3-dimensionality to the already multi-emotionally-layered script. From the very beginning, we are aware of the disturbing qualities of the relationship between Hilary and Jackie, purely because of the distorted visuals of their seemingly blissful childhood. It's precise- ly these tensions; subverted, dark cine- matography within a stable, pleasant story that gives "Hilary and Jackie" its power, without havingto exaggerate the point it is trying to make. By Ed Sholinsky Daily Film Editor Candid is the perfect word to describe James Ellroy. The infamous author wrote his memoir "My Dark Places" so he could be honest not only with himself, but also with his readers. And this carries over to much of Ellroy's other work. The author of many grisly crime novels and the new collection of "reportage and fiction from the underside of Los Angeles," "Crime Wave," Ellroy takes a no holds barred approach to his writing. Scribing stories that he peppers with sharp, concise sentences and real people, Ellroy has managed to create a social history of Los Angeles in his- novels, short stories and non-fiction. And this comes from his relationship to the city itself. "Well, I'm from there," Ellroy told the Daily in a recent inter- view. "And my mother's' mur- der (took place) Ellroy in L.A. when I Rackham was 10 years Amphitheater old, and it Tonight at 5 sparked my full obsession with L.A. crime and L.A. mystery." This resulted in Ellroy's "L.A. Quartet," the novels "The Black Dahlia," "The Big Nowhere," "L.A. Confidential" and "White Jazz." But don't expect Ellroy to write any- more novels about Los Angeles. "I took burnt out, psycho-sexually driven guys as far as they could go in the 'L.A. Quartet."' Ellroy says. "And I made a conscious decision that L.A. and I are quits as a fictional town ... What I want to write about is the total- ity of America." And though the short fiction in "Crime Wave," which will be in stores March 1, is set in Los Angeles, Ellroy took a large step towards exploring America more with his last novel "American Tabloid," (Time Magazine's novel of the year in 1995). In that same vein, the untitled novel that Ellroy is working on now is the sequel to "American Tabloid." The sequel "picks up again five minutes later," from where "American Tabloid" ended, moments before the Author James Eliroy. Now that's intimidation. Kennedy assassination. After Ellroy finishes this novel, he will write the third part of the story, in what will make up "The Underworld U.S.A. Trilogy." Though Ellroy found inspiration for "American Tabloid" in Don DeLillo's novel "Libra," his past has much to do with the fiction he writes today. And the most important factor in Ellroy's work is his mother's murder. "What my mother's death did was give (rise to) a great many dark curiosities. Understand that the most important event of my life (is my mother's mur- der), but I didn't get my talent there, I got my obsession there." In addition to this, Ellroy has also had to deal with prison, drug addic- tion and alcoholism. Though behind him, Ellroy states "I couldn't have written the books if my life hadn't played out in the manner that it hap- pened." And this plays a prime role in the work collected in "Crime Wave." Of the three pieces of fiction included, two feature the drugged out, psychotic "Hush-Hush" reporter Danny Getchell on his mad romps through Los Angeles' dark side. And while Ellroy only plans to use Getchell in short fiction, not novels, he has a lot planned for the character. "What& want to do over the next 10 years or so is, through Danny Getchell's eyes time travel back and forth between L.A.'s early 1970s and 1980, and tell the story of Danny Getchell, wildman" And where will this time period find Getchell? "Danny Getchell run- ning a porno bookstore in the early '70s. Getting into all kinds of shit." Specifically? "How old is Ronald Reagan, 89? What are the odds he'll be around 10 years from now? Not s* good ... Well, first 'cause you've got Danny Getchell working on Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial campaign. Speaking of presidents and contro- versy, being a crime writer, Ellroy almost wrote a story for GQ about the recently acquitted President Clinton. "I'm thrilled that he's impeached," Ellroy answered when asked about the approach he would have taken to sa story. "I think he should be remove. And I think that it's very obvious that he obstructed justice and lied. I also think that he's an absolute, fucked up (guy). An absolute cocksucking, bug- 'eating cockroach." James Elroy brings his candid self to AnnArbor tonight, and will read at Rackham Amphitheater at 5p.m., courtesy of Shaman Drum. 'October Sky' lays on schmaltz By Laura Flyer Daily Arts Writer Present a small-town boy who sud- denly realizes the inevitable reality of his future life as a coal miner and starts studying the prin- ciples of rocketry after school, and one can enrapture October audiences. The Sky truth is, people want to be **' inspired; they At Showcase want to see that and Briarwood rural, uneducated boy become a sci- entific genius. Sometimes these types of movies are true winners (take "Good Will Hunting"), but though we hate to admit it, a logical plot and commendable acting are part of the deal. "October Sky" doesn't meet these requirements. Director Joe Johnston, who achieved notoriety for his special effects triumphs in past movies, from "Return of the Jedi" to "Raiders of the Lost Ark," is so close to getting the right formula down, but botches up the film with contrived one- liners, questionable sequences and mediocre acting. The year is 1957, and the Soviet satel- lite Sputnik enters orbit, offeringa sense of escapism for the hard-working folks of Coalwood, West Virginia. But to high schooler Homer Hickam (Jake Gyllenhaal), a rocket in space is more than just a far-away wonder, it encour- ages and enables him to builda rocket of his own. Good thing he's got the (could we be any more clich6?) open-minded, unorthodox schoolteacher Miss Riley (Laura Dem) to support him, believe in him and pressure him to pursue his dreams. So Homer grabs a few of his buddies and a school nerd (consequently ostra- cizing himself from his once-respectable social life), and they go to great lengths to find all the materials they need to build a model rocket.They find scraps of metal, steal railroad tracks and covertly experiment with substances during their chemistry labs. Problem: Homer's dad (Chris Cooper) runs the coal mine down the road from their house, and the mine is everything he lives for. Mr. Hickam wants Homer to become a coal miner like himself, and in general, to be the man he is. Homer has other plans, however. He wants to suc- cessfully build a rocket so that he can win the state science fair, enter into national competition and get a college scholarship. With some fun '50s tunes and a few quirky little mishaps that the boys expe- rience while trying to launch their rock- et, "October Sky" has half a chance. Unfortunately, there are some random segments in the film that only serve to obfuscate the message. Mrs. Hickam is a questionable character, as in one scene she almost neurotically paints a muralor a wall in their kitchen right in the middl of a fight between her husband and sot Her passivity is counteracted when shi eventually stands up for herself, but he motives for this are unsupported. Her husband also shows inconsn cies. He is supposed to be the hero of th coal mining industry, but there isn enough interaction between him and hi staff to see how the miners look up him. Also, one of the main characters fall ill for no apparent reason other than prove Johnston's attempt at banality b making this character a martyrout of he goodness. As easy as it is to be consumed b Jake Gyllenhaal's piercing blue *e they don't have enough spark to hide hi lack of talent in "October Sky" Laur Dern's enormous grin looks ridiculos after a while, and characters with mninc roles spew out one-liners that are so bl tantly over-acted that they're comical. Some finer aspects of the movi should not be overlooked, however. A innovative shot presents Homer's cot flict between going for his dreams 1c et science) and honoring his h (working in the coal mine). Home trapped in an elevator which surgc beneath the earth and into the cot mines, stares through the slats of'its cei ing towards the stars, where his "hea1 belongs. You get the idea. Still, ths scene, and many others come down I two simple words: Schmaltz City. 'Glory' passes up By Jonah Victor For the Daily Why does Magic Johnson continue to tackle entertainment ventures he is not qualified for? By producing "Passing Glory," Magic Johnson attempts to pay homage to young black bas- ketball players in the South during the '60s, whose often unre- alized dream is to play for "a school up-north" as he once did. Unfortunately, the producers and cast seem to have trouble deciding on a game plan, as this historical drama stumbles down the court. "Passing Glory"takes us back to New Orleans at the height of the civil rights movement. Emmy winner Andre Braugher("Homicide: Life on the. Glory Street") plays Father Verrett, a black ** priest from the North joining an all- TNT white faculty at a black Catholic High Ft. 21sat 8p.m. School. The headmaster Father Grant, played by Rip Torn ("The Larry Sanders Show"), surprisingly appoints him as coach of the school's famed Basketball squad. The team rests on its laurels of being the best black school in the city, until Verrett excites the imagination of the young men by tempting them with the forbidden thought of playing the white school champions. Verrett, is an unorthodox coach, reminiscent of Gene Hackman's Coach Norman Dale in "Hoosiers," who wrangles players, parents, faculty and community alike in his determi- nation to make a difference. Anxious to defy and break segre- quality for Magk gation, he finds himself running up against brick walls. Tl1 coach often conflicts with the Headmaster, who feels th Braughner is threatening his own slow but steady effor toward integration. On both teams, the kids are at war with ti racial status quo perpetuated by their parents and society In h debut appearance, Sean Squire stars as Travis Porter, the str basketball player who walks a thin line between moving up life or becoming another bum in the projects. "Passing Glory" is a true story written by actor 1 Sylvester ("Married with Children") who was the star play, on the original team and was elemental in bringing about int gration of athletics and college teams in the state of Louisian: With a production crew that boasts the talents of Quincy ont and director Steve James ("Hoop Dreams"), itis disappointin that this movie does not come together better. Continually tempting the viewer with thought-provoki and almost moving scenes, "Passing Glory" often loses t1 ball. Hurt by a weak and nonchalant performance by Squi and the supporting cast as well, the choppy storyline allows li tle time for character development. Braugher seems to be alor on the far end of the court with his profound portrayal*tt idealistic priest. Tom provides a strong presence on the screer but is never given the opportunity to fully explore his poter tially interesting character. "Passing Glory" works best asa pastiche of life in the Soul during the turmoil of the '60s:At its worst, it is only an indi ferent telling of a potentially inspiring story. Whatcan be take away from this movie is a little more understanding of the cot trasting attitudes of the older and younger generations duri the civil rights movement. k,.