"When the jester sang for the king and queen in a coat he borrowed from James Dean..."
You know, I'll never really understand that song. However, I do understand why everyone thought James Dean was a knockout.
I'm not really sure where to begin with this movie. I really, really loved it, but that's not enough to say is it?
From the opening credits (which, by the way, I kind of like that older movies do all of the credits like that at the beginning. It makes people pay attention. In modern movies, I am always looking elsewhere when the opening credits are playing.) I immediately was drawn in. He just lies down on the ground next to one of those monkeys playing the cymbals. The big tough guy having a sensitive moment.
I really have to say that it seems like all of these actors and actresses that star in these classic movies seem to just be all around talented. I'm sure I'm idealizing them a bit... but I don't think James Dean had to get all buffed up for this movie that I a lot of actors do. I think he probably just was like that. Or at least he worked on it so that he could be like that on a daily basis. Actors back then had to have the total package: sing, dance, act, etc. Its kind of disappointing to see today's actors just kinda... not being lazy... but not exactly up to the same standards as they used to.
I noticed a lot in Rebel Without a Cause, as I do with a lot of these older movies, that a lot of the scenes seem hokey and fake. I get a little turned off towards them. But then, there are these moments, like when Jim is screaming at his father to stand up for him to his mother. Or when Jim overhears those guys from school saying they want to bring him down, it all just comes to life. What I love about those moments is that I'm even more engaged, even more amazed, than in a current movie that is just trying to shock me. I'm yanked out of my seat and pulled into the emotional realm of the picture. It is absolutely beautiful.
I totally did not see it coming when Buzz's car goes careening of the edge of the cliff during the chickie race (or whatever they called it). I was absolutely shocked when he gets his sleeve caught. I actually felt bad for him. Up until that point I didn't like him because he just seemed to pick out Jim to torment for no reason. Not very many of his friends seemed to be that upset about him dying though. There was one guy that got kind of emotional, but other than that, all of the other guys just didn't want to get caught. Even Judy, who I assume was his girlfriend, moves on to someone else in. the. same. night. You can blame it on the grieving process, but I was just wanting a little bit more of an emotional reaction.
"I wanna do something right!"
I was also surprised by how much this movie was about parents and their relationships with their kids. All of the main characters in this movie are either kids that were screwed up by their parents, or parents that don't know how to handle their kids. It was amazing how it all fit together. Judy was looking for a strong man that could be sensitive (like Jim) because her father abuses her. John was looking for some nice parents that would stick around (like Jim and Judy) because both of his parents left him. And Jim was trying to be the strong, sensitive, manly man that his father couldn't be. Jim coming to town seemed to momentarily solve everyone's problems, and for a moment, in the mansion, when Judy and Jim were acting like parents for John (what's with all the J names you ask? I have no idea...) everything was okay. But it wasn't really okay. Jim and Judy couldn't be John's parents. They both needed parents of their own. John needed more help that Jim could give him. When John dies, Jim is the one that needs the support, and his father finally stands up and is the man that Jim needs for him to be.
The whole final thirty minutes of the movie were so powerful. John is crying, holding a gun, and crying "help me!" because he thinks no one loves him. And then once the cops show up, Jim tries so hard to coax John out of the planetarium and into the custody of people that will take care of him, but only to have John freak out and get shot by the police. Then its Jim's turn to break down. He tries to laugh (like he always does, which I think is a nice choice for his character), but he just breaks down crying again. His father has to lift him up off the ground. It's so hard to see Jim, the guy that everyone sees as tough, being cradled by his father. Sublime.
They never resolved Judy's story though. I guess Jim was just going to be looking out for her now on.
I LOVED the camera angles in this movie. In the first few scenes in the police station when we can see Jim through the window when Judy and John are being interviewed for their individual petty crimes. Also, there was another shot when Jim's mother is coming down the stairs. Jim is lying on the couch, so he sees her upside down, but then the camera stays on her and rotates right side up. It almost made me sick to look at, but it was still fun to watch.
The usage of red in this movie is phenomenal. It seemed like whenever the story was changing hands, the new lead character would wear red, from Judy in her red coat with red lipstick in the beginning, to Jim in his red jacket, to finally John with his one red sock and Jim's red jacket. The red punches through the screen, makes you focus.
There were only a few tiny things that I really didn't like about this movie. Like... that John SHOT some PUPPIES? Yeah... the cop at the beginning of the movie asks him why he SHOT PUPPIES? Really? Who would or could shoot a puppy?
I also have a hard time believing that those guys could be so mean to him without even knowing him at all. They slash his tire and then ask him to get into a knife fight? What did Jim do? Its his first day of school. It just seemed a little bit outrageous to me...
Let's see... little things I did like...
I LOVED when Jim came in and was literally chugging the milk and then rubs the cool jug on his face.
I also like how Jim treats Judy. I didn't like Judy too much until about the last third of the movie, but after Buzz dies and Jim takes Judy home, and he grabs her by the scarf and says "You'll be alright?" and then he winks at her? I think writers should write more guys like that in movies. But then again, who would play them?
Buzz Gunderson. That was the bully's name. The guy that drives off a cliff. He totally sounds like the type of character that about 10 years after high school (you know... if he hadn't smashed his car into jagged rocks in the ocean) he would be bald and fat and divorced. That's how they would probably write his character if they remade this movie today. They also probably wouldn't have John die at the end. No teen movie, which is what this one felt like, could have the main character get shot at the end like that. Nope, not after the 1980s.
I didn't really buy that James Dean was supposed to be a high schooler. He looked just a tad too old. But I didn't really mind it after the movie really got going.
Jim Stark? Nice name. Tony would be proud.
Something I really like about this movies, and all of the other movies like it that I've been watching recently, is that they still seem to have their innocence. they are directed at an audience that will suspend their disbelief and just go where the movie takes them. The type of audience that this movie was made for doesn't need big explosions and the f-word being thrown around all over the place. They don't need to be shocked by a joke about crabs when the planetarium starts talking about a crab constellation. We see John crossing his fingers when Jim and Buzz start their chicken race. It just seems sweeter, nicer. They are easier to watch. They leave me wanting more.
Anyway, I feel a little rusty at this since its been a few months since my last entry. I hope things will get better as time goes on. I loved Rebel Without a Cause. I could and would watch it again and again.
Next up, All About Eve. Its a movie I'd never heard of before, but it was really good. Get ready.
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