Imitation Of Life

Imitation Of Life

Year: 1959

Director: Douglas Sirk

Cast: Lana Turner, Juanita Moore, Susan Kohner, Sandra Dee

Screening at Sydney Film Festival 8^th June-19^th June 2011

Monday 13^th June 2011 3pm Art Gallery of New South Wales

It is time once again for the most important  film festival in the Australian events calendar. The Sydney Film Festival is in its 67^th year and with the Australian film industry only getting stronger, the festival itself is pulling in not only some fine films competing for the Official Grand Jury prize, but also some very exciting Australian premieres.  Hot on the tail of its Cannes Film Festival showing, Terrence Malick’s “The Tree Of Life” will be showing as will Julia Leigh’s controversial “Sleeping Beauty”. However, the great thing about the Sydney Film Festival is that it brings back to the big screen several films that were made during the 20^th century that have not been seen in Australian cinemas in many of our lifetimes.

One such film that will be showing at the Sydney Film Festival which I will definitely be seeing is Imitation Of Life. It won’t be the first time I have seen this film, as it is actually featured in my top 50 favourite films, as listed here on Imdb.com, but there is nothing like seeing one of your favourite films on the big screen. Especially if, like me, you have only ever had the opportunity to see it on DVD. However, if you haven’t seen this film and you are in Sydney during the film festival, I do encourage you to go along to the Art Gallery of New South Wales on the 13^th of June (the Queen’s Birthday Holiday) and check it out.

Imitation Of Life opens with the meeting of actress, Lora Meredith (Lana Turner) and Annie Johnson (Juanita Moore) on the beach at Coney Island. Feeling for Annie’s hardship, Lora invites her and her daughter, Sarah Jane to live with her and her daughter, Susie. Both girls experience growing pains, yet Sarah Jane (older version played by Susan Kohner) has the harder situation. While Annie is dark skinned, Sarah Jane is white as her father was. The last things she is is proud about her mother’s heritage and continually leads people to believe she is white, which ultimately means disowning her own mother. Susie (Sandra Dee), on the other hand, feels neglected by her mother who she feels always puts her career before her.

This film contains a lot of confronting issues, especially relating to race. The time in which Imitation Of Life was made was still a time of racial discrimination so one can partly understand why Sarah Jane would want to avoid that oppression at all costs. Yet, the way she treats her mother is any parent’s nightmare. It is these two minds and conflicting situations in Sarah Jane’s mind that make this film so intriguing. Sarah Jane is, as much as you want to kick her most of the time, a great character. She represents those people in society who feel that they have an identity crisis as a result of being a mix of two races. The situation is particularly heartbreaking when looked at from her mother’s point of view. Sarah Jane blames her mother for being the colour which she is and ultimately does not want her to be her mother. Having your child feel this way about you is any parent’s nightmare. Every parent wants their child to be proud of where they came from and to love the woman who made them, yet Sarah Jane despises her.

The relationship between Lora and Susie does seem to get lost in the Annie and Sarah Jane situation. Although Susie feeling neglected by her mother is supposed to be a big issue, it is almost forgotten throughout the film as the audience is so absorbed by Annie and Sarah Jane. Yet, it does work in a way because Lora gets involved in the dispute between Annie and Sarah Jane and Susie is almost forgotten.

Imitation Of Life is very character driven and the acting always had to be of a high standard to make this film successful. The acting is brilliant by all four of the leading ladies. Douglas Sirk was known for being a “women’s director” and in this film he shows why. Susan Kohner makes you feel angry and emotionally strained watching her, which symbolises how successfully she completes her job as Sarah Jane. Juanita Moore also gives an emotionally charged and absolutely heart breaking performance as the mother who’s daughter is drifting further and further away from her. She is devastating in this film and everyone feels the depth of her pain.

Lana Turner, who gave her best acting at this point in her career, gives a stellar performance. There is one particular scene in Imitation Of Life which could well have been the best scene of her career. She is stunning in this film, but also strong at some times and emotional in others. Susie was Sandra Dee’s breakthrough role and the role just before she was launched into Gidget stardom. She is very sweet, but also manages to give her all in the scenes which demand her to give more than just sweetness.

Even if you are not in Sydney for the film festival this month or you are busy on the 13^th of June, track down a copy of Imitation Of Life to watch something quite spectacular. It is a remake to the 1934 film of the same name starring Claudette Colbert, yet this earlier film is not quite as emotionally gifted. Remember to watch this with a box of tissues nearby.

9.5/10

Creation

Creation
Year: 2009
Director: Jon Amiel
Cast: Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Jeremy Northam, Toby Jones

In My Own Words
On the closing night of the Sydney Film Festival, I decided to see the Charles Darwin biopic, “Creation”. Perhaps the most thrilling part of seeing this film at this festival is that I got the pleasure of being at the same screening as screenwriter, John Collee. It was a great experience to listen to Collee speak and answer questions on the life of Charles Darwin, the research that went into writing the script and the making of the film. I think it is very easy to take for granted how much research goes into writing a script before the first words are even written, especially in a biopic such as “Creation”. The film was based on the book “Annie’s Box” by Randal Keynes, who is actually the great-great grandson of Charles Darwin himself. A great deal of the information in this book is correct, as Darwin was known for writing many a letter to his friends and family (as is shown in the movie) and he was a compulsive note-taker. Collee said of him “If he were around today, he would be an adamant blogger”. So Darwin would probably be one of the easier people to find information on for this reason, but nevertheless there is still much research to be completed before writing a biopic screenplay. I applaud any screenwriter for the amount of work they put in both before and during the writing of a screenplay.

I do believe that many Christians may be weary of watching this film because of the idea that Darwin’s theories are closely linked to atheism. However, there is not too much to be frightened of with this film. There are some references from other characters besides Darwin that he is in war with God and that his book would prove the church wrong, but this is not what the movie is about. It even suggests that Darwin himself may have had doubts, but was not entirely sure that his theory meant that God did not exist. It has been suggested by many people, including today by Collee, that Darwin’s book, “The Origin Of Species” was more a way of coming to terms with his anger towards God for taking his beloved daughter, Annie away from him. It does seem quite odd that if he was an atheist, why he would be buried in Westminster Abbey in London. Or was this just a goodwill gesture upon his death? Something to be pondered.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
“Creation” may be about the writing of Charles Darwin’s infamous book, “The Origin Of Species”, but it is not about his evolution theories as per say. “Creation” focuses more on the relationship between Charles Darwin (Paul Bettany) and his wife, Emma (Jennifer Connelly)as they both come to grips with the death of their beloved 10-year old daughter, Annie (newcomer Martha West). Charles and Emma drift apart from each other as Emma turns to her Christian faith for comfort, while Charles stops going to church and becomes obsessed with his scientific theories of life on Earth and how it came to be. As Charles is continuously pressured by others to write his book for all those who agree with him, he feels like he is drifting further away from his wife, his children, himself and his deceased daughter.

“Creation” could have been a fantastic film, but it feels like it was just done the wrong way. The main criticism of the film is that it is far too jerky and it feels as though it does not even out until the last half an hour. It is the way in which the flashback scenes are incorporated with both the present and Darwin’s dream-like hallucinations that make the film seem far too erratic. The film would have worked far better if it was just carried through chronologically. Maybe director, Jon Amiel was trying to make the film slightly more surrealistic by piecing the film together this way, but it just seems far too jumpy and the audience is not able to take their time to enjoy a scene for what it is. However, as said before, it seems to smooth out towards the end, and the last 20 minutes are just magic. They are emotionally striking and filled with some extremely fine acting.

Attention must also be brought to the visuals of the film. There are many scenes which are truly beautiful and are stunning to watch. The period is very well represented in the costumes, visuals and the music. The script is very well written. The amount of research done is evident and well written into the film.

The acting is what makes the film work and is definitely its saving grace. Paul Bettany gives his career best in this film. Not only does he uncannily resemble a young Charles Darwin, but he gives a heartfelt performance as a husband and father struggling with both grief and his sanity. His performance will be a tough one to watch for many fathers. The real-life married couple of Bettany and Jennifer Connelly is, as it typically is, a winning choice. The chemistry is already there and shows up on the big screen in spectacular fashion. The acting from these two is great throughout the film, but, like the film, it gets better throughout the film. For one particular scene, Bettany should win an Oscar based purely on that.

“Creation” could have been a great film instead of just a good film. The jerkiness of the film is the huge downfall. A great film should be great the whole way through rather than waiting until the last quarter. However, it should be seen purely for Paul Bettany’s magic. The film takes an in-depth look at a grieving family and may strike a chord with many people who have been through a similar situation. “Creation” could have been a film about any grieving family, but is made more interesting by the family being the Darwins.
6.5/10