So I planned to watch both this and You Were Never Really Here in the same week without realizing that the newer film starred Joaquin Phoenix, who is of course the brother of River Phoenix. I’ve had this film in my sights for a while now due to RIver’s performance in it but the fact that it was also directed by Sidney Lumet is another plus in its favor.
17-year old Danny and his younger brother are the children of Arthur and Annie Pope. The parents, who are leftist activists, bombed a laboratory making napalm in 1971 to protest against the Vietnam War and have been on the run ever since. With their children they would settle down for a while under false identities with the help of a network of supporters, only to run again when the FBI catches up with them. Despite these circumstances and the lack of a piano to practise on, Danny trains himself to become a competent pianist and his talent is recognized by a music teacher in the latest town they move to. He wants him to apply to enter the Juilliard music school though Danny himself has never considered college due to how this would mean being cut off from his family. He also gets romantically involved with the teacher’s daughter Lorna. After he tells her the truth about his identity, she tries to persuade him that he deserves a life of his own and he can’t stay with his parents forever.
This film makes use of plenty of familiar themes: a child’s coming of age, young love, parents’ realization that it’s time to let a child go and so forth. The magic of it is that it’s perfectly integrated with a separate theme about the passing of an era of leftist activism, that the angry,, hot-headed student protesters of the Vietnam War era have now grown up to be middle-aged, middle-class members of society with children of their own. This message couldn’t be more clear when the Popes are visited by an old comrade in arms, Gus. Unlike them, Gus wants to continue waging war against the system and is ready to use violence to do so if that is what it takes to get media attention. Annie correctly points out that the war has long been lost and that Gus is just a 46-year old man who refuses to grow up while he predictably accuses them of selling out and becoming part of the herd. It’s unbelievable how well these interactions complement Danny’s own inner turmoil over whether to stick with his parents as they have always taught him or to strike out on his own to live his own life. I really like how the overall tone implies a great deal of sympathy for the leftist cause while at the same time acknowledging the futility of the struggle and that it’s time to move on. There’s some similarity here with Dog Day Afternoon.
As a piece of craftsmanship, this film is impeccable as well. River Phoenix’s acting is exceptional and, as Lorna comments, I especially like how he is able to embody contradictions. With his bad boy hair and insouciant distance, he looks like a classic rebel, yet he is also unfailingly polite, wear glasses without shame and is of course a virtuoso at the piano. Lumet once again proves how great he is as a director without needing to be a flashy about it. It’s dumbfounding how he is able to inject so much life into thoroughly mundane scenes like a small birthday dinner party in a very modest home. Plus I think we have scriptwriter Naomi Foner to thank for the complex, multi-faceted characters in this film. Instead of having one or two points of characterization, I love how there are layers to them, such as how Arthur really would prefer that Danny be into rock music for, I suppose, its counter-culture signalling instead of classical music and how Annie really is tempted by Gus’ offer. This film is just so perfectly executed on every level.
About the only thing that I would say against this film is that it is so parsimonious and so understated that it ends on a somewhat abrupt note. It’s so frustrating that Lumet works in a scene in which Danny arranges to anonymously see his grandmother but she never realizes who he is for example. I think that too is ultimately another masterstroke by Lumet to show the audience just enough so that we can work out the rest for ourselves and leave the audience wanting for more. I can’t recommend this film highly enough.