reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (10/13/84)
"Country" had a ragged production history, and it shows.
Jessica Lange, its star, first got the idea for the film from a
photo in a newspaper. She convinced Hal Ashby to direct, and
between them they settled on William Whittliff to do the script.
Eventually, Ashby dropped out. The script was shopped around to
every studio in Hollywood, without success, despite the fact that
Jessica Lange had just come off an Oscar for "Tootsie" and criti-
cal acclaim for "Frances". Eventually, Disney Studios, looking
for more adult products for their Touchstone Film division,
picked it up. Whittliff was set to direct, but about ten days
into the filming, he was removed. Richard Pearce, best known for
low budget, high quality independent films, replaced him.
As if this wasn't enough, Lange's costar is Sam Shepard, one
of America's finest playwrights and a good actor, too; and, not
coincidentally, Lange's current romantic interest. Well, if the
star's boyfriend just happens to be around the set, and he's a
major playwright, and the script has problems anyway, what could
be more natural than to have him do some rewrites on the spot?
Add in complete failure to come up with a good ending and com-
petition from two other movies concerned with country matters,
and "Country" looked like it was in trouble.
It was and is. There are a number of good things about
"Country", but probably too many weakness for most tastes. The
story, set in present day Iowa, concerns a farming family which
faces a crisis when the government agency which persuaded them to
take out capital improvement loans a few years ago suddenly de-
cides to call the loans due. Since the family has been losing 80
cents on every bushel of corn they grow, this action is rather
badly timed, from their point of view. If they can't come up
with the money, the government will auction off their farm.
As the family's fortunes go further downhill, the husband
turns to drink and the wife to desperate (and dramatically fuzzy)
strategies. The story culminates in an auction scene remarkably
similar to one done forty years ago in King Vidor's "Our Daily
Bread". Uncertainty about the real meaning of this scene scut-
tles the tail end of the picture. The uneasy family reunion is
not well counterpointed by the uneasy state of the family's for-
tunes, so the picture falls flat.
Jessica Lange plays Jewel Ivy, and Sam Shepard Gil Ivy.
Lange is good enough, but doesn't give the kind of performance
one expects from an actress so passionately interested in a film.
Shepard is a crucial piece of miscasting. The husband is basi-
cally a weak man, unable to hold up to pressure. Shepard doesn't
look like he has a weak bone in his body. It's a little like
casting John Wayne as a coward. Shepard, while marvelous in a
suitable part, such as Chuck Yeager in "The Right Stuff", doesn't
have the versatility, the chameleon-like ability to alter his
personality, that would allow him to play this kind of part. He
can't make us understand why his character falls apart. On the
plus side, there is a natural chemistry between Lange and Shepard
(well, there should be, under the circumstances). They make a
very natural husband and wife in the happier, early portion of
the film.
Pearce had one week between the first time he read the
screenplay and the first shooting day. Thus, it is unfair to
blame him for the failings of "Country". He does the kind of job
one would expect under the circumstances. There are some good
touchs, but overall Pearce doesn't establish his own vision of
what the film should be. Pearce is capable of much better, as
can be seen from his earlier film, "Heartland", which covered
similar territory, but much more effectively. The blame for
what's wrong with "Country" really must go to Whittliff, the
screenwriter. The story is poorly focussed. There is some good
dialog and a few very good scenes, but this is precisely the kind
of cobbling that one could expect from Shepard, who set to work
too late to remedy basic flaws in the structure. Ultimately,
Lange also deserves some of the blame. She produced the film,
and was the initiating force and the one who kept it going. I
expect more from a labor of love.
"Country" does have some virtues. Most of the supporting
performances are very good. Sets, costumes, etc. are up to the
usually high Hollywood standards, and the photography is good.
Charles Gross' score, though, is dreadful, trite and given to be-
laboring the obvious. An early tornado scene is obviously staged
in a studio, but it's still impressive.
"Country" really isn't worth seeing unless you have an in-
terest in the subject. It's not a bad film, but it's not a very
good one either. It gets full points for good intentions, but
loses most of them for uncertainty about how to carry out those
intentions. If Pearce had been in charge from the beginning,
especially if the filmmakers had solved the script problems,
"Country" might have been a very fine film.
--
Peter Reiher
reiher@ucla-cs.arpa
{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher