10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 1, 1995 'Lake' takes a month to tell its story By Prashant Tamaskar Daily Arts Writer Loveis moreromantic in picturesque European locales. Whether this is true or not, movie producers often set their romantic films in these places. They provide a most fitting atmosphere. A perfect example of this is John Irvin's "A Month by the Lake" which uses the lush scenery of Italy as a backdrop for a surprising romance. The film begins with Miss Bentley (Vanessa Redgrave) returning to the resort town of Como, for the first time without her father who has recently passed away. While there, she meets a man named Major Wilshaw (Edward Fox), towards whom she develops a mysterious fancy. However, circum- stances do not bring them together and the Majorplans onleaving Como within a week. Yet Wilshaw is persuaded to stay by a beautiful, manipulative American, Miss Beaumont (Uma Thurman), who A Month by the Lake Directed by John Irvin; with Vanessa Redgrave and Uma Thurman At the State Theater takes care of the children of some other guests intheresort. Believing that some- thing may form between himself and the much younger Beaumont, the Ma- jor begins to pursue her. At the same time he develops a closer friendship with Miss Bentley. Mean- while, Miss Bentley herself responds by dating a young, rich, local Italian gentleman. The rest of the film con- cerns itself with the development and resolution of this situation. Clearly, the most intriguing thing about this movie is the relationship be- tween MajorWilshaw and Miss Bentley. While she is radiant, energetic and free spirited,heis stodgy,stubbornand plain. Yet even when they don't get along (which is often), they seem to have a nice chemistry together. This isn't nec- essarily apparent early in the film, but it gradually evolves in the rest of the plot. And although you are really not sure what Miss Bentley sees in him, for some reason you want them to fall for each other in the end. However, what stands between the Major and Miss Bentley is the tempting Miss Beaumont. Being young and at- tractive she enjoys the control that she has over men; she abuses this power by teasing the poor Major. Miss Beaumont often psychologically and verbally tor- ments the proud Wilshaw, even caus- ing this stoic individual to lose his com- posure in one scene. It is often uncer- tain whether Miss Beaumont really un- derstands what she is doing. Unfortunately, the director seems to treat this aspect in a trivial manner, as evidenced by Miss Bentley's reaction to the situation. Although at one point shevehementlyreprimands Miss Beau- mont for her behavior, she later seems to forget all about it. This is surprising considering the importance of this in- stance in the film. Despite these noteworthy interac- tions, as well as the lavish Italian back- drop,the initial portion ofthe film plods along. Early scenes are intended to de- velop the plot further, but appear to be leading nowhere. Although the film's lazy pace deliberately serves to parallel the overall atmosphere of the location where the film is set, its effectiveness is questionable. Fartoo much ofthe movie is complete before the plot begins to quicken, a technique which may sacri- fice the curiosity of many viewers. Vanessa Redgrave and Uma Thurman don't seem to be having much fun in the sun. Not to be overlooked in this film, expressing the emotions ofthe reserved what seems like a month to arrive at however, are the remarkable perfor- Major. Finally, Thurman shines as the final point. The movie begins slo mances of the three central characters. devilish Miss Beaumont. She brings a and drags along until, when only n Redgrave is fantastic as Miss Bentley, freshness and naivete to the role, thus its finale, it displays signs of life. Th masterfully playing the role of some- preventing her from becoming truly the patient viewer is ultimately tes one who is lonely although not un- evil. with a fine final helping that leaves happy. She works remarkably well with Although "A Month by the Lake"has wondering - like many in the mo Fox, who excels in this movie by subtly the foundations for success, it takes - about what could have been. Little Uma Thurman wears a big hat. RECORDS Continued from page 9 Various Artists Working Class Hero -A Tribute to John Lennon Hollywood Records Various Artists In From The Storm - The Music ofJimi Hendrix BMG Music In a day when just about anyone can have a tribute album, two of rock's mostinfluential artistsendupwiththeir own retrospectives, but each album falls so short of paying homage, you can almost picture John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix rolling over in their graves. On "Working Class Hero - A Tribute to John Lennon," various top name cur- rent artists attack Lennon's legendary music, some surviving, but in some cases,theyendupmaulinghis acclaimed worked. The main problem with "Working Class Hero" is that the collection tries to be too hip and too timely. With bands like Candlebox, Collective Soul and Sponge, the album seems like a cheap attempt to cash in on Lennon's music and today's lame music scene. Tracks like Mad Season's "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier" and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "I Found Out" are inter- esting with their new twists on the clas- sic versions, but they still fail to really achieve anything all that impressive, while Blues Traveler's "Imagine" is Even though its not the Jimi, "In From The Stori grab his music by the I vocals on "The Wind Cr nice, as are Taj Mahal't version of "Rainy Day, D The most interesting< line-ups is on "In From whichfeaturesthebest in bers - Corey Glover (L on vocals, Eric Shenkmt tors) on guitar, and Dav (Pearl Jam) on drums. But while both album good tracks, the majority end up as filler on wh; uneventful records. Various Artist Latin Lingo Rhino Records Despite the criticisms,I cal attacks, hip hop, and r continue to gain interna and admiration. The bir rap groups everywhere fr South Africa to Japan att nowhere outside of thea has hip hop had more ofa in Latin America. Doze and groups of Latino/Chi have hit big in various La countries, and a few ha waves in the U.S. Take Mellow MN "Mentirosa," where he's buster-ass girlfriend.C style rap came directly fr of '80s rap. Or, consider' Puppet." In this song, f first tribute to like Slick Rick's legendary "Bedtime m" still fails to Story," rapper Hi-C describes the or- horns. Sting's deal of having a relationship with a ries Mary" on drug addict. His anti-dope stance and, s on his jazzy even moreso, the storybook-like nature )ream Away." of this song are also '80s hip-hop cre- of the all-star ations. fthe aStm," The Lighter Shade of Brown/Shiro the Storm'" double-rap "On a Sunday Aftemoon" is ex-bandmem- very Kid n' Play-ish with each rapper iving Colour) stopping mid-sentenceallowingthe other an (Spin Doc- to complete his thought. Compare this e Abbruzzese with the determined, empowerment vibe of "La Raza" (Kid Frost). Hard-edged is offer some and unforgiving on the ear, "La Raza" of the covers sounds much like the pride-instilling raps at are mostly of Public Enemy. Another interesting feature of'80s rap Brian Gnatt was its discussion of sex. It wasn't as hardcore then as it is now with Biggie Smallsgettin' headorthesoundscoming from Dr. Dre's "Doctor's Office." In the 80s music of guys like Doug E. Fresh, Too Short and (especially) Luther Campbell, sex was more comical, the lies andpoliti- punchline ofa "knock knock"joke. Hi-C ap in general, and Tony A are much like this in"Froggy tional respect Style," explaining how Jeannie (of "I th of popular Dream of Jeannie" fame) increased his rom France to "maleness" and how a little green am- est to this. Yet phibian taught him the complexities of United States doin' tha "froggy." tn impact than Throughout "Latin Lingo" rappers ns of rappers more often than not use unvaried rapping icano heritage schemes that stress the last word of every atin American othersentencerhyming with the last word ve even made of the sentence before it. This fossilized rapping style, though comish-sounding today, was used by every popular rapper lan Ace's back in the day including Run DMC, the talking to his L.A. Dream Team, and The Fat Boys. Conversation- Further, a fair amount of Spanish is used om the caldron in many songs, yet the amoynt of English "I'm Not Your spoken allows the songs' meanings to flowing much remaincleareven tothosewhocan'tpass ionn Lennon, working cuss nero. surprisingly weak. Screaming Trees' version of "Steel and Glass" is one of the few successful tracks that actually pays "tribute" to Lennon. Toad the Wet Sprocket's "In- stant Karma!" is one of the album's best, along with The Minus 5 (featuring Mary Lou Lord, Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth) cover "Power to the People" "In From The Storm - The Music of Jimi Hendrix" has a different problem from Lennon's tribute. "In From The Storm" takes numerous top name clas- sicandnew rockerslikeCarlos Santana, Sting; Brian May and Corey Glover, but turns Hendrix's hard rock master- pieces into cheesy orchestrated pieces of elevator music. With heavy and dramatic orchestra- tion, the album loses almost all its rock appeal, and turns into a mushy over dramatic insult to Hendrix. The scream- ing guitars are drowned out by violins and horns, and even though musically the pieces may be exciting, they don't have anything close to the edge Hendrix intended. Spanish 101. While "Latin Lingo" offers nothi new inthewayofcutting-edgehipho still reminds us that the sphere of inf ence that hip hip generates flows far I yond the African-American diaspo "Latin Lingo" incorporates everythi from the serious to the flippant, a diri reflectionofrapsmalleability.Whileth deeply entrenced in '90s-style hip , may not enjoy this CD much, those al to appreciate the importance of the 8 musical generation as an experimen ground for the music we have today withoutdoubtfallinlovdwithwhat"La Lingo" has to offer. -Eugene Bow Mike Scott Bring 'Em All In EMI/Chrysalis For 12 years, the Waterboys kept moving. Theirsoundshuffledeffortles: fromCelticfolktorockandroll tosoul hom-laden anthems-often on the sa album. The band's home base shifl almostasquickly,fromLondontoDjub to Galwayto New York City. MikeSc< the bands singer andprincipal songvrit reckonssometwodozenmusiciansplay with the group. But the revolving door stopped turni after 1993's fine "Dream Harder," a Scott found himself with a bunch oft originals and no band to play them wi The Waterboys disbanded, and Sott t tured to his native Scotland and sart to play solo. If the Waterboys were the sound fluid movement, "Bring 'Em AlluIn" the sound of their leader finally settli down. The furious fiddle solos, the th derous piano, the saxophones and Scot rasping, passionate howls are gone, placed by a softer, folkier style. Scott's acoustic strumming and h monica serves as the only backdrop most of the record's 13 intimate sor Theyrange fromspiritualfolk("What You Want Me To Do?," "Leaming Love Him")togood-natured 12-barbli ("City Full of Ghosts") to sweet songs ("I Know She's in the Buildin "She is So Beautiful") to acoustic thems ("Long Way to the Light"). As always, Scott sings with pass and conviction. Even such self-reflect lines as "Dublin is a city full of busk playing old Waterboys hits ... the gh of my glorious dissolute years ... ghostofatimewhen I stillhadthePow in "City Full of Ghosts" sound convi: ing. Even more convincing, though, Scott's comments on returng to homeland, "the old country welcom me/like a prodigal son coming home,' he sings in the anthemic "Long Way the Light."Headdsin"EdinburghCast "I scanned the skyline/it was like backdropofaplay/Ineversawyourhe less beauty/until I'd been away ... I got to say it's justtotally great/to be b in Glasgow again!" Mike Scott hasgone home-wi out the Waterboys. He's lost the ban soulful,freewheelingjams,buthe'sgain a more intimate, introspective voice. ] not the "big music," but it is a fine s effort. -Jennifer Buck Please See RECORDS, page ..., ....,b ..,.... , 'Independence' full of strength and beauty Mad Season are sure handsome fellows, eh? SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY LAW IN LONDON CLINICAL INTERNSHIPS May 28 - July 19, 1995 Division of International Programs Abroad Summer Programs Office Dept. AP 119 Euclid Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-4170 1-800-251-9674 E-mail: DIPASUM@suadmin.syr.edu By Paul Spiteri For the Daily They say a picture can speak a thou- sand words. On the flyers posted for this weekend's production of Lee Blessing's "Independence,"the picture of four figures holding hands while one is torn apart speaks at least that thou- sand. Yet, if you just viewed the flyer and caught some of the meaning behind this tragic play, you missed the beauty of hearing those words. Takingplaceinthesmall townofInde- pendence, Iowa, the action surrounds the lives of four women. For Evelyn, mother to the other three, the fear of being alone and abandoned -as she has been before -compels her to do anything to keep her daughters home. The revelation of just which daughter if any will sacrifice her- self and stay comes only at the very end. In its most dramatic moments, the play feedsoffthistension,whichcomesacross quite well in this production directed by Musical Theater Program(MTP) sopho- more T. Adam Hess. Allison Lane (MTP '96), playing Evelyn, appeared believable as the ulti- mate domineering mother. Lane sank her teeth into the challenging role, dif- ficult especially forsomeone most likely more empathetic to the daughters in the play than their suffocating mother, Without this empathy for Evelyn's ex- SA rena Theater October 27 pectancy of her daughter's sacrifice, the play would fail. For even if this traditional value is under fire, the pa- thos of the Evelyn's condition at the end of this play alone states at least some truth behind it. The validity of this tradition rests on how much responsibility we owe to our parents. When Evelyn says, "That's what family means. Each generation destroying itself willingly," she is talk- ing about sacrifice parents make for their children. Of course, the loyalty now questioned is that of children to their parents. As Kess, Allison Buckhammer(MTP '96), delivered a strong performance. Playing the independent and strong- willed daughter, Buckhammer held up many ofperhaps the strongest moments of the play. Contrasting her two sisters, Kess becomes more vulnerable through- out the play, her apparent impregnable amour of aloofness to the family's situ- ation crumbling more and more. Buckhammer brought out this loss of control. In roles of Jo and Sherry, Brenda McEldowney (MTP '96) and Laura Heisler (MTP '97), respectively, cap- tured their own due amount of the audience's attention. Playing the ever- giving middle child, Jo, McEldowney held up many of the key moments of the play - especially the end, with her character's sudden change of heart. As Sherry, Heisler playedup the role ofthe rebellious uncontrollable daughter. In the most melancholy moments, Heisler's loud-mouthed lines kept the performance dramatic and avoided maudlin melodrama. The sets were simple during the per- formance, keeping all the attention on the actors (as it should be). With assis- tance from designertHeather Friesleben, Hess' direction most notably appeared in the dramatic lighting ofthe play. Yet, the chemistry between the actors them- selves - perhaps not as noticeably a director's handiwork - showed off best the talent and the hard work of those on and off the stage. In these challenging roles, not one a loving character easy to slip into a com- fortable sympathy with, the fact that four skilled female actors were able to be found for the play speaks well of the Basement Arts program and its Univer- sity resources. IMPORTANT b REGISTRATION 1811 INFORMATION Effective with Registration for Winter Term 1996, students will be receiving their registration appointment times electronically. All registered students with an address on the X.500 'vill receive their appointment via E-Mail the week of November 6. Registration appointment start times will also be available on Wolverine Access. Touch-Tone Registration will begin on November 13 for selected units; on November 16 for undergraduates. rmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmu IT'S COLD OUTSIDE, BUT IT'S WARM AT MRS. PEABODY'S! Treat yourself to a muffin, r a cookie or a yogurti g, 715 N. University 7 761-CHIP Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 8:30-7:00, Fri. 8:30-5:30, Sat. 10-5:30 We ship and deliver cookies f I