Project Film School: From Here to Eternity

 

Photo by keithsim@imdb.com - © 1953 Columbia Pictures

I had never seen From Here to Eternity (1953) except for the scene that everyone knows in which the lovers kiss in the waves of the Hawaiian shore. But I had heard that it won a lot of Oscars and was on many "best films" lists. So, of course, if one is attempting to catch up on classic films, this seems to be a film to add to the queue.

This film, directed by Fred Zinneman and written by Daniel Taradash, tells the story of several army men, and the women in their lives, in 1941 Hawaii. Montgomery Clift plays Robert E. Lee Prewitt, a private who joins a new unit but refuses to box for them. His new captain, Capt. Dana Holmes (Philip Ober), who is only interested in advancing his career and the glory that boxing brings to his unit, orders his staff to make Prewitt’s life a living hell until he agrees to box. The unit's second-in-command, Sgt. Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster), follows the Captain’s orders, but clearly has no respect for a man who doesn’t respect the military. The Sergeant begins to pursue the Captain's wife, Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr), who struggles with issues in her marriage, namely, her husband’s philandering and her inability to have children. Meanwhile, Prewitt falls in love with Lorene (Donna Reed), a girl hired to entertain men at a social club. Plus, there’s Frank Sinatra in an Oscar-winning turn as Prewitt’s buddy Angelo Maggio, who clashes with a crude stockade sergeant, played by Ernest Borgnine. And let’s not forget that attack on Pearl Harbor.

What’s fascinating to me is that this grand movie with big stars, fantastic scenery, and immense themes about love and war is, at its core, about something very basic: people making life choices. In From Here to Eternity, each character has made choices that brought them to the film’s present-day situations. And, where they end up at movie’s end is a direct reflection of the choices we watch them make. [Warning: Spoilers follow for anyone who hasn’t seen the film.]

For example, Prewitt is emotionally damaged from having blinded a good friend while they were sparring at his old unit. As a result, he chooses not to box for his new unit, regardless of the torture they heap upon him. Lorene makes the choice not to get engaged to Prewitt because she has already decided her path in life, and it does not include being married to an army man. In desperation, she offers to marry Prewitt to try to keep him from rejoining his unit after the bombing, but you know that it could not happen, even if he were to survive. (When she talks about him on the boat while leaving Hawaii, she takes pride in presenting the false story—invented by the army or by her? I’m not sure which—about how he died a hero. She did not want him as he was.) And then there’s Sergeant Warden, choosing to give up a future with Karen (sexy rolls in the sand notwithstanding) to stay married to the army. Captain Holmes and Maggio make their life-defining choices, too.

And I think that is why this film has endured. We can see past the glamour of the screen and the historically pivotal timeline to focus on the characters. So while the film may be big, the characters’ lives are small. They are soldiers and housewives and working men and women like everyone else. They make choices based on their beliefs and fears and desires—choices that may or may not serve them well, but they are their choices to make. And we connect with the film because we all have choices to make, too.

Portlandia Dreamin'

Portlandia – This series on IFC isn't new (4^th season comes out in 2014), but, like too many things, it's new to me. Portlandia is a sketch-comedy co-created and co-written by Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, and Jonathan Krisel (who also directs) and executive produced by Lorne Michaels. Armisen, Krisel, and Michaels all come with the Saturday Night Live pedigree, of course, but Brownstein, of the band Sleater-Kinney, is a newcomer to the TV world. And she is simply brilliant to watch. The series takes place (and is shot entirely on location) in Portland, Oregon, and it revels in the city's kooky reputation through equal parts silliness and stinging social satire.

The first episode sets the tone via a song that explains how the dream of the '90s (when people were encouraged to be unambitious and weird) is alive in Portland—the city where young people go to retire. Throughout each episode, Armisen and Brownstein play a series of recurring characters that mock and celebrate what makes Portland so unique. Having never been to Portland, I watch as an outsider. But like all the great shows, it brings me in just far enough so that its world starts to feel both familiar and entirely foreign to me (think M*A*S*H). The list of guest stars who have visited—either as themselves or a crazy character—is also impressive: Aimee Mann, Steve Buscemi, Eddie Vedder, Jeff Goldblum, Chloe Sevigny, Edward James Olmos, Kyle MacLachlan, and many more. When Aimee Mann plays herself working as the cleaning lady for a couple (played by Armisen and Brownstein) who are fans of her music, but have much to criticize about her cleaning, you know that something awesome is happening.

One final note: I love the series open. In the tradition of any successful open (the ones you watch with each episode), it creates a mood that perfectly matches the show. The music ("Feel It All Around" by Washed Out) feels both dark and happy and the video features locations around Portland shot in a greenish hue that's equal parts welcoming and odd. It's as much a character as the ones played by Brownstein and Armisen. It makes me want to go to there. Of course, despite the flannels still hanging in my closet, I'm not sure that my nerdy self could handle all that kookiness in person. But a visit would be nice.

Return to Reality

I know it seems I've gone all fancy-pants watching classic films and quality TV shows, but no worries—I still watch plenty of crap. I've been reticent to write about it, however, because, frankly, much of it is losing its appeal. It's not the genre's fault. I'm sure there's plenty of ridiculousness left to be mined. I think it may be my choice of shows.

Bravo has been my main destination for a quick reality fix, but it's become rather stale. There are mainly five types of shows on Bravo: the Real Housewives franchise, spinoffs featuring cast members from Real Housewives, a group of friends with a shared culture/lifestyle (e.g., Princesses of Long Island), a group of young people who work in the same industry/location (e.g., Below Deck), and the competitions (e.g., the Top Chef franchise). Aside from the competition-based shows, most of the Bravo series are filled with frequent full-cast events (dinner parties, product launch parties, work parties, etc.) interspersed with smaller get-togethers in which cast members talk trash behind each other's backs (ensuring a fight at the full-cast events). Which sounds awesome if you're into this kind of thing (which I am), except the stories have gotten so formulaic that there's nothing new or unexpected anymore.

And here's the other problem with Bravo and the other networks that produce reality shows—we've all known for quite a while that these shows aren't exactly real, but now the networks have gotten brazen about scripting and setting up each interaction. As a result, the same celebrity news sites that publish stories about the shows' stars now also post articles about the storylines that were completely faked (for example, see Radar Online). And it isn't only the news sources getting in on the big reveals. Individuals with personal knowledge about reality stars' lives, particularly those with an axe to grind, have taken to personal blogs and Twitter to spin their own versions of certain events. It's become an industry of she said/she said/he said/she said... Ultimately, you end up assuming that none of it is true.

So, am I going to stop watching? Hell no. Despite knowing all that I do about these ridiculous shows, sometimes there's nothing I want more than to immerse myself in nothingness at the end of a long day. Sure, sleep would be smarter, but then how would I have learned these two very unimportant things: 

• Joe Francis isn't just a soft-core porn peddler and exploiter of young women; he's also an asshole to all people regardless of age, gender, sex, or celebrity status. His offensiveness is equal-opportunity, as seen on Couples Therapy (VH1).
• Despite their varied backgrounds and belief systems about art and commerce, all contestants on Project Runway (Lifetime) are willing to smile pleasantly as the show spends increasing amounts of time shilling their sponsors' products during the challenges. (Yes, I'd love to give away Yoplait Frozen Yogurt from a cart and then design clothing based on the tasters' descriptions. Mmm...creamy dress!) No fear of selling out here.

And it doesn't get more real than that! (Well, actually, I guess it does. I'm going to search for some new shows. I will report back soon.)