8 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 21, 1995 Reiner's American dream Pianist Ohisson captivates Bykate Brady Daily Arts Writer Be controls the most powerful coun- try- in today's world. He spends his every waking minute flankedby guards, and dealing with important issues. His every action is material for the evening news. How can the president get a little time forhimselfRob Reiner's latest film "An American President" takes an inter- esting look at the man behind the office. Michael Douglas plays Andrew Shepard, a man who is father, widower and president ofthe United States. He is The American President Directed by Rob Reiner with Michael Douglas and Annette Bening At Briarwood and Showcase popular entering an election year, until he meets Sydney Wade (Annette Bening). He asks her to join him at a state dinner, and they begin dating, much to the great joy of the press, and his conservative rival. Shepard comes un- der attack, but comes out looking like a real winner. Reiner does an interesting job of eploring the politics that take place. behind the scenes in the White House. It Is revealing to see how much of the running of this country the voter knows nothing about. He presents a sympathetic look at how difficult it must be to be president, to have so much power, and to remain a real person. Michael Douglas is extremely lik- able as commander-in-chief. He seems well cast in the role of an intelligent leader, which he plays with humor and charm. Annette Bening is also good as Sydney, the tough, environmental lob- byist who becomes the president's love interest. The main members of the president's advisory staff provide much of the hu- mor. Michael J. Fox - as an over- anxious adviser - deserved more screen time to develop one of the film's most entertaining characters. The writ- ers would have also done well to in- clude more of the humorous supporting players, and less of the cheesy dialogue .that preceded many of the romantic scenes. Despite its billing as a sappy ro- mance, which it, unashamedly is, "The American President" is also very funny. The unexpected spots of humor, both political and otherwise, spice up what could have been a much less enjoyable movie. Actually the romance between Shepard and Wade is probably the most difficult thing to believe about this movie. Sure, they are two single, intel- ligent and attractive individuals. How- ever, the plot seems to race through their courtship at top speed; one minute she is telling him off at a meeting, the next they are declaring their love for one another. The movie really does not show any development of this relation- By Matthew Steinhauser Daily Arts Writer Garrick Ohlsson arrived in Ann Ar- bor to give the sold-out Rackham Audi- torium a quick fix, a trip to the lovely, delicate, haunting paradise of Frederic Chopin's piano music. The pianist pre- sented the fourth concert in a six-part series, in which he will perform all of Chopin's piano compositions. For nearly three hours Sunday after- noon, Ohlsson again proved his remark- able ability to capture the hearts and minds of an audience, while playing only the work of one composer. Every piece left the crowdstunnedandbreath- less. His ability to seize the souls of the audience lies much deeperthan his flam- boyant style and technical proficiency. Ohlsson understands and communi- cates the multiple dimensions of Chopin's music. He captures the under- lying angst in many of the composer's pieces, but also displays a remarkable propensity for revealing the lighthearted moods in many of Chopin's mazurkas and scherzos. Like few other pianists in the world, Ohlsson's playing paints enthralling pictures for the listener. For most of the first half of the pro- gram, Ohlsson concentrated on Chopin's light, dance pieces. He warmed up with Three Waltzes, Op. 34, playing them with a delightful touch., After Tarantelle in A-flat Major, Op. 43, the pianist explored the Mazurkas, Op. 41, and the Scherzo No. 4 in E Major, Op. 54. The scherzo fit perfectly with Ohlsson' s flamboyant person al- ity, as he jumped all over the keyboard with ease, playing the sharp, skipping - with the same skill as the clear. rE\LVW *Garrick Ohlssou Rackham Auditoium Sunday, Nov. 19 melancholic melodies. Ohlsson melded together the con- trasting Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op 45 and the Polonaise in F-sharp iinor, Op. 44, leaving a split-second pause between the two pieces. At the cnd ot the flowing, graceful prelude, the pia- nist held out the last note for several seconds before diving into the fast, fu- rious polonaise. The big chords ex- ploded from the piano. After the initial onslaught of stormy progressions, Ohlsson calmly slid into the exhausted, beauty of the middle portions before the harsh, deliberate final lines. Near the end of the program, Ohlsson again presented a thoughtful reflection into Chopin's dark side, playing Two Nocturnes, Op. 48. He squeezed all of the somber pain out of the pieces, while maintaining the graceful elegance in the compositions. Ohlsson released the audience from the heavy, depressing spell of the noc- turnes with his final selection, Scherzo No. I in B minor, Op. 20. He completed the scherzo with a rambunctious foray, reminiscent of stormier pieces. Ohlsson's technical brilliance, char- ismatic style, and unique interpreta- tions of Chopin's music satisfied all in attendance Sunday evening. Ohlsson deserves recognition as one of the pre- mier pianists in the world today. "Pardon me, but would you have any Grey Poupon?" ship. This movie is also probably more enjoyable if one is not a member of the conservative right. The president's main rival, Sen. Rumpsin (Richard Dreyfus), is a Bob Dole/Newt Gingrich amal- gamation, and the movie's only villain. So, steer clear of this film if you would feel bad about seeing either of them get slammed. Reiner has presented a man that seems an ideal president, full of all the talents and virtues and guts that I. are so lacking in most of politics. His president remains a real person, some- how largely untainted by the business he is in. Too bad he only exists on the screen. 'Carrington"s Jonathan Pryce earns the role of his life REORD Kenny Drew Jr. LONDON (AP) - Dora Carrington may be the title character, but the performer commanding the attention - and early awards - ih the movie "Carrington" is Jonathan Pryce. Pryce plays the homosexual Lytton Strachey, biographer and author of "Eminent Victorians" (1918) as well as Carrington's beloved if platonic companion from their meeting in 1915 at Virginia Woolf's country home to his, death 17 years later at the age of 52. "I'm very glad the film is not called 'Lytton,"'the soft-spoken Welshman said, "because then it's all to do with confounding expectations and surpris- ing an audience." The film, the closing night selection at the New York Film Festival this fall, begins its commercial release across the United States tomorrow. Emma Thompson plays Carrington, the Bloomsbury artist who commit- ted suicide at 39, shortly after Strachey's death. Appearing in glasses and a long red beard, fingers long and sinewy, Pryce plays Strachey as the liveliest wit Oscar Wilde never wrote. On his deathbed, he sniffs, "If this is dying, I don't think much of it." The role of an actor's dreams? "It's partly why Carrington was so obsessed with Strachey. He did draw the light," said Pryce, who won the best actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May for this performance, and is being talked up for an Acad- emy Award. "The opportunity to explore that depth of character in a film is quite rare," said Pryce, 48, who has been far better represented on stage than screen over the last 25 years. "It's like Wilde in terms of lan- guage but as far as depth of character is concerned, the nearest equivalent is Chekhov; it's quite a literate script." Chekhov provided two of the actor's stage triumphs on London's West End - as the writer Trigorin opposite Vanessa Redgrave in "The Seagull" (1985) and, three years later, as Astrov, the doctor, to Michael Gambon's Uncle Vanya. Pryce's Hamlet in 1980 at the Royal Court remains one of his generation's most acclaimed, as does his Macbeth at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1986. He won a Tony Award in his Broad- way debut in 1976 in Trevor Griffiths' "Comedians." He got a second Tony in 1991 in his Broadway musical debut, playing the sleazy Eurasian pimp in "Miss Saigon." On screen, Pryce has been mostly a supporting player for hire in films as diverse as "Jumping Jack Flash," "Glengarry Glen Ross," "Shopping" and "The Age of Innocence." His choice of movie roles, he said, has been far less discriminating than his work on stage. "Often, with a film, I read a script once and think, 'That would be fun to do,"' said Pryce. "Then I start filming andsay, 'I shouldhavereadthistwice.' "Films to me in the past have taken less commitment to be involved with. They are a passing thing which seemed very rarely to do with the actor unless you were in a position ofpower that you called the shots. "You did it, and either people en- hanced it in the editing process or ru- ined it; it seemed a very much more haphazard venture than theater, so it takes me longer to commit to a piece of theater than it does to a film." On TV, he received anEmmy nomi- nation as Henry Kravis in HBO's "Bar- barians at the Gate" and is known to devotees of U.S. TV commercials as the Infiniti car spokesman for the past three years. Live at Maybeck Concord Jazz lovers have been waiting on pins 'and needles for the Next Great Pianists for some time now. After the deaths of Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans (among others), it seems like any young piano player who comes along with moderate tal- ent has had accolade after accolade thrown at him. Blinding chops seem to be more in favor these days instead of good taste or hard swinging, which. is why someone like Kenny Drew Jr. has become popular within jazz circles. How much do you love scales and finger excersises? Ifyoujust can't get enough, go get "Live at Maybeck," as Drew has provided for you the lis- tener ten songs filled with 5 million notes each. Technical facility im- presses me as much as the next jazz critic, but only ifthere's more to one's playing than that, and Drew sadly hangs his musical hat on playing things twice as fast as anyone else, even on ballads. Get ready for Horace Silver's "Peace," the standards "Stella 'Side On, IThatrt. - 10,1, llthigh lFo . mtrsars lH-,b~". Sir'! PPiPER'S 1.11d51 IN t Si 1R l a N\-s. pa~u t .air, pA, n" tiith r, Iahi nret s at i sfe gerrtoher It was (weflts eari ago ttxlai, 1ti tn titke sotu a..asde. ig gown Set.Ppper taught tht band e, pla, ( lmb,iv Ii. hi k .. ili siiii h iii it. hc up t hre letter that's i, tog thror flies S te ntgrirfl( itartd ot t 1.It lu,iii s. 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