 | Cradle Will Rock Starring: Hank Azaria, Ruben Blades, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, Cary Ewes, Angus Macfadyen, Bill Murray, Vanessa Redgrave, Susan Sarandon, John Turturro, Emily Watson |
"Cradle Will Rock" gets its name from the Orson Welles-John Houseman production of little known composer, Marc Blitzstein. Blitzstein's musical play, based in Steeltown, USA, is about a greedy industrialist, a courageous union worker and a compassionate prostitute. It rocked more than just a cradle. The production was part of FDR's Federal Theater Project, an off shoot of The Works Project Administration (WPA), which was designed to put Americans back to work. Welles loved the play and the controversy it would generate and decided to direct it. Even though Hallie Flannigan, director of the Federal Theater Project, gave an enthusiastic stamp of approval, certain powerful conservative senators felt the play was too far to the left to be financed with Federal dollars. During the intensive rehearsals, influential powers were at work to assure that the play would not open. Even the Union was persuaded to ban actors from appearing onstage. On opening day, armed soldiers surrounded the theater and confiscated costumes and sets. Welles and Houseman, in a somewhat zany, frantic way, managed successfully to get the show opened. I won't give away the ending but suffice to say that the New York Theater Set went wild and history was made. However, many participating actors paid dearly in years to come. For most of the rest of his life, Orson Welles attempted to get financing for a screenplay of The Cradle Will Rock. He failed. Enter Writer-Director Tim Robbins with his rendering of "Cradle Will Rock." Robbins uses a broad canvas to give us a sweeping view of New York's turbulent thirties, a time of unprecedented political and social change, where extreme poverty and dangerous political views clashed with conservative concepts which often led to violence. Yet it was also a heady time for courageous, creative idealists. Robbins captures all of this with an inventive whimsical style similar to the movies of the thirties and gives us a film to both applaud and thoroughly enjoy. Influenced by his mentor Robert Altman, Robbins uses seemingly disconnected stories to enhance the main narrative. This technique can be a risky one. If not done exactly right the film could have resulted in a series of disconnected stories looking for a theme. Robbins avoids the dangerous pitfalls and, for the most part, carries this form through as well, if not better, than Altman. Surrounded with a great ensemble of actors, Robbins gets strong performances from Cherry Jones (Flannigan), Ruben Blades, who explodes as Diego Rivera, John Turturro, Bill Murray, Cary Ewes (Houseman), Angus Macfaden (Welles), and Emily Watston. MacFaden as Welles is incredibly accurate as the boozy, manic, energetic young genius. Welles would rent an ambulance to get through the busy Manhattan traffic to do his radio shows (at the time he was The Shadow), speed back to the theater while making up as Faustus and arrive at the theater just in time for his entrance. His rehearsals for Cradle would usually take all night, with Welles consuming two large steak dinners washed down with copious amounts of French wine and Cognac. Cary Ewes plays Houseman with a slightly effeminate quality, which serves to accent the tense relationship between the two partners. There are a few minor flaws, but Robbins keeps the film moving at a good pace. It all leads up to a grand climax that makes a strong point about art and politics with celebration and joy. The juxtaposition of the smashing of Rivera's mural and the ecstatic crowd after viewing "Cradle Will Rock" is magically effective. The viewer leaves the theater cheering. This is not the way Welles would have filmed this story but one can't help thinking that the old master would be pleased with the gutsy risks that Robbins successfully takes with this very entertaining film. There is no question that he would have appreciated the subtle nod to Citizen Kane as the film opens with a Movietone Newsreel. I would imagine that we could look for a few Oscar nominations in supporting roles with this one, particularly Cherry Jones who becomes a major force in keeping this film tightly together. When Robbins was asked what this film was about, he replied, "Courage!" He masterfully achieved this message and much more. |