Spring Break
Oscar-winner goes indie
by Ben Strassfeld
Arts | 10/21/08
Posted online at 12:50 AM EST on 10/21/08
For some filmmakers, reinventing oneself with a radical new direction seems to come naturally. Steven Soderbergh, for one, has made a career of it, jumping between mainstream big-budget fare like the Ocean's Eleven series and Out of Sight and independent and even experimental works like Sex, Lies, and Videotape and Bubble. For others, attempts at reinvention only lead to massive failures. After making a name for himself in the '70s with hard-hitting, brilliant dramas like The Godfather, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola tried to reinvent himself with the romantic musical One From the Heart, a film which famously lost nearly all of its massive $26 million budget. While the former director has thrived by constantly changing his filmmaking style, the latter failed miserably trying to do the same.
I am happy to say that Jonathan Demme's latest film, Rachel Getting Married, places the acclaimed filmmaker firmly into the Soderbergh category of directors. Film buffs have been singing Demme's praises as far back as the 1980s due to films like his seminal music documentary Stop Making Sense and the comedy/drama Melvin and Howard, but Demme didn't truly enter the mainstream until he created his Oscar-winning blockbuster hit The Silence of the Lambs. Released in 1991, the film grossed upwards of $100 million and was widely acclaimed as a landmark work by critics, who heaped praise on the film and on Demme in spite of the violent and controversial subject matter. Demme followed this up with Philadelphia, one of the first Hollywood movies to deal frankly with the issue of HIV/AIDS. Again, Demme was revered and hailed for his bold direction.
But, then a funny thing happened on the way to Demme's becoming the next great director; while he directed some music videos and documentaries during the latter half of the 1990s, his work in feature films became poor as well as rare. He directed a stale adaptation of a Toni Morrison novel, Beloved, and then went on to direct two ill-conceived remakes of classic films, The Truth About Charlie and The Manchurian Candidate. While in the early '90s Demme looked to be one of the best directors working in Hollywood, by the turn of the century his films already seemed out of date and out of touch.
I am happy to say that Jonathan Demme's latest film, Rachel Getting Married, places the acclaimed filmmaker firmly into the Soderbergh category of directors. Film buffs have been singing Demme's praises as far back as the 1980s due to films like his seminal music documentary Stop Making Sense and the comedy/drama Melvin and Howard, but Demme didn't truly enter the mainstream until he created his Oscar-winning blockbuster hit The Silence of the Lambs. Released in 1991, the film grossed upwards of $100 million and was widely acclaimed as a landmark work by critics, who heaped praise on the film and on Demme in spite of the violent and controversial subject matter. Demme followed this up with Philadelphia, one of the first Hollywood movies to deal frankly with the issue of HIV/AIDS. Again, Demme was revered and hailed for his bold direction.
But, then a funny thing happened on the way to Demme's becoming the next great director; while he directed some music videos and documentaries during the latter half of the 1990s, his work in feature films became poor as well as rare. He directed a stale adaptation of a Toni Morrison novel, Beloved, and then went on to direct two ill-conceived remakes of classic films, The Truth About Charlie and The Manchurian Candidate. While in the early '90s Demme looked to be one of the best directors working in Hollywood, by the turn of the century his films already seemed out of date and out of touch.
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