lcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) (10/31/83)
This film has good acting, great photography, great soundtrack. However instead of just "being" an art film, this has been forced to be an art film. Rumble Fish just doesn't sit quite right -- it seems contrived and pretentious. The movie isn't a total loss, however, because of the things mentioned above. Worthwhile as a study of film noir technique if you can stand the overkill.
oscar@utcsrgv.UUCP (Oscar M. Nierstrasz) (11/24/83)
I like almost anything Coppola does. I even liked
"One From the Heart", though God help me if I have to
explain *why* to someone. Fact is, his films are
interesting to *watch* whether or not he has anything
interesting to say.
I was, however, very disappointed with "The Outsiders".
Coppola's overblown "Gone With the Wind" approach was
at odds with S.E. Hinton's simple teenage story,
allusions be damned. I found it too hard to suspend my
disbelief long enough to enjoy what I was watching.
Similar complaints could be made about "Rumble Fish":
the story is pretty thin (like "The Outsiders", it was
written for teenagers). "Rumble Fish", however,
belongs to the Orson Welles School of Filmmaking.
*Every* single shot in this film is a feast for the eyes.
Perhaps I didn't make that quite clear -- ***EVERY***
shot in this movie has been carefully designed to blow
the top off your skull. (The last film that I saw
that did this was Welles' "Touch of Evil".)
You may complain about the story: the younger brother of
the town's legendary "Motorcycle Kid" doesn't have a lot
going for him, and is a bit slow at figuring this out;
but the performances (of the leads) in the film are GREAT.
Matt Dillon gives a fabulous Brando-esque interpretation
of the young kid. Mickey Rourke (I think that's his name ...)
who played the aging punk in "Diner" is wonderfully
existentialist as the aging Motorcycle Kid. (We feel
that a movie about *him* would be more interesting than one
about his brother!) To top it off, Dennis Hopper plays
the part of Dennis Hopper as their father. (Maybe he knows how
to play only one character -- himself -- but it's a classic one.)
Coppola's expressionistic filming of "Rumble Fish" may
overwhelm the story, but unlike in "The Outsiders",
the cinematography compensates rather than competes.
So when's Coppola going to make a movie for *adults*?
PS: The jerk behind the counter in billiard hall is the
utterly gratuitous Tom Waits.
PPS: For all you Tom Waits fans, that's "jerk" as in "soda-jerk". Ok?
Oscar Nierstrasz
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