Written, directed, and shot by Haskell Wexler, Medium Cool is the story of a TV news cameraman who goes right into the center of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago as he deals with what to film making him question about what to tell where news media becomes more scripted. The film is a dramatic interpretation of the events of 1968 in Chicago as it showcases a world that is unraveling as it’s told in an in-your-face cinematic style to comment about what is shown and what isn’t shown. Starring Robert Forster, Verna Bloom, Peter Bonerz, Marianna Hill, and Harold Blankenship. Medium Cool is a gripping and evocative film from Haskell Wexler.
The film follows a cameraman trying to get some good stories to tell in Chicago just months before the Democratic National Convention where he deals with the chaos of the year including assassinations, the Vietnam War, race riots, and all sorts of shit. It’s a film that play into the world of media coverage where a cameraman is trying to find some meaning through what he sees yet he finds himself being told what to shoot and create an angle just as the world is going into disarray. Haskell Wexler’s script is loose in its presentation as it blurs the line between fantasy and reality where the main narrative revolves around the cameraman John Catselas (Robert Forster) as a man just trying to find some idea of what is really going on as he’s joined by his soundman Gus (Peter Bonerz).
During this time to search for compelling stories including one about a cab driver who found an envelope with $10,000, Catselas finds himself at odds with bosses over what to tell as they’re interested in gathering footage and sources for the FBI. It adds to Catselas’ own emotional turmoil as his relationships with some people falter just as he’s befriend a woman named Eileen (Verna Bloom) who had just moved from West Virginia to Chicago with her son Harold (Harold Blankenship) while her husband is away at Vietnam. Eileen represents someone who had lived in a part of the world that is sort of disconnected from the chaos of what is happening right now as she has trouble adjusting to her new environment.
Wexler’s direction is engaging and confrontational in its blur of reality and fiction where it aims for this hand-held documentary style in capturing real events that are unfolding throughout the film but also with the dramatic narrative. Shot on location in Chicago, Wexler who serves as the film’s cinematographer and one of many camera operators aims for this realistic approach to this story of a man trying to find meaning in the news just as the news itself is becoming compromised and scripted. While there’s some wide shots in the film, much of the direction is intimate with its usage of close-ups and medium shots as it play into the action that is going on while Wexler also use audio and video clips of the events that are unfolding in 1968 playing into this air of chaos that is on the rise. The direction also has this loose tone where Wexler showcases the life that Catselas had before meeting Eileen and questioning his role as a cameraman as the film opens with him and Gus on a highway where they find a wounded woman lying out of her car following an accident.
Wexler’s direction and photography maintains an air of realism in the visuals including scenes at a night club where Catselas and Eileen watch a band play as well as dance to the music. It would culminate with the real-life events in and out of the Democratic National Convention where Wexler and his team of camera operators just film what is going on while Eileen is walking around trying to find her son. The sense of chaos, violence, and danger add to this air of realism where reality and fiction would blur as it play into these events where some news outlets refuse to report this riot but others realize there is something important happening as it relates to what Catselas is trying to do as a news cameraman. Overall, Wexler crafts a riveting and haunting film about a news cameraman trying to find a story for the world to know in a media that’s been compromised.
Editor Verna Fields does excellent work with the editing in its usage of jump-cuts and some montages to capture the action and chaos that occur throughout the film. Art director Leon Erickson does nice work with the look of the apartment that Eileen lives that is a total contrast to the more spacious apartment loft that Catselas lives in. Sound editor Kay Rose does fantastic work with the sound in capturing all of the sound clips from news reports as well as the chaos that is happening outside of the Democratic National Convention. The film’s music by Mike Bloomfield is amazing for its mixture of folk and rock that play into some of the dark humor of the film with some instrumental pieces by the Mothers of Invention and Love.
The film’s superb cast feature some notable small roles from Peter Boyle as a gun clinic manager, Christine Bergstrom as a news staff member/lover of Catselas in Dede, and Charles Geary as Harold’s father in flashback scenes. Marianna Hill is wonderful as Catselas’ lover Ruth who spends time at his loft while questioning about his ideals towards the news. Harold Blankenship is fantastic as Harold as Eileen’s son who is dealing with his dreary situation as well as wondering when his dad is going to come back home. Peter Bonerz is terrific as Gus as Catselas’ sound man who accompany him to the assignment as he is also concerned about where the news media is going. Verna Bloom is brilliant as Eileen as a former schoolteacher from West Virginia who has moved to Chicago as she deals with her new surroundings while befriending Catselas as she ponders about her husband who is in Vietnam. Finally, there’s Robert Forster in an amazing performance as John Catselas as a news cameraman who is dealing with the growing turmoil in the news media as he wants to capture real stories that mean something as it starts to affect his personal life as he finds solace in Eileen.
Medium Cool is a sensational film from Haskell Wexler. Featuring a great cast, a commentary about news media in the late 1960s, haunting visuals, and a riveting music soundtrack. It’s a film that explore a moment in time that would prove to be not just a turning point in American history but also its exploration of a man wanting to capture the truth and be part of it despite the compromise he has to endure in his line of work. In the end, Medium Cool is a spectacular film from Haskell Wexler.
© thevoid99 2019
Directed and starring Clint Eastwood and written by Ernest Tidyman, High Plains Drifter is the story about a mysterious gunfighter who is hired by locals from a frontier mining town to fight against criminals and corruption. The film is a look into a man helping locals defend themselves against injustice while dealing with a band of criminals seeking to reap the hard work of the people. Also starring Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill, Geoffrey Lewis, Billy Curtis, and Mitchell Ryan. High Plains Drifter is a thrilling yet mesmerizing film from Clint Eastwood.
The film is a simple story about a mysterious gunfighter who arrives at a small mining town to fight against bandits yet there’s more to this story as it involves corruption and the death of a marshal (Buddy Van Horn) in the hands of the bandits. The mysterious gunfighter (Clint Eastwood) is a man with no name but he is someone who knows how to fight against bandits as he tries to rally this small town to fight against bandits. Yet, there are those in the town like some local officials who feel uneasy about the gunfighter’s presence and his willingness to change things as they would try to attack him. When it comes time to face a trio of bandits, trouble brews forcing the gunfighter to handle things himself.
Ernest Tidyman’s screenplay doesn’t carry much of a plot but it does have a lot of ambiguity into its protagonist as he’s a man that is just drifting into town. He arrives as someone that can wipe out bandits but there are people in this town who find him to be an unwelcoming presence including the local whore (Marianna Hill) and some of the town’s council led by a civic leader (Mitchell Ryan) as he thinks there’s a way to profit from this. The story is interesting as there’s bits of humor that includes the presence of a half-man named Mordecai (Billy Curtis) who befriends the stranger. There are moments in the story where it takes some time for things to get moving in the first act while another flaw in the story is the way women are portrayed as the local whore is just very nagging while the wife of a hotel owner (Verna Bloom) is also ambiguous as she’s a character that is underwritten.
Clint Eastwood’s direction is quite engaging not just for the compositions he creates but also in the way he maintains some air of suspense that is mixed in with humor and drama. Still, it is a western at heart though it doesn’t follow some of its themes other than to bring justice and such as the stranger is a very mysterious individual who has some very odd ideas. Eastwood’s compositions is filled with some gorgeous imagery as well as very stark portrayals of violence as it’s obvious that he’s drawing ideas from two filmmakers who shaped his career in Sergio Leone and Don Siegel. Notably in the wide-shots, some tracking shots, and some hand-held work where Eastwood allows a sense of energy in the action while creating some dream-like moments that involve the death of the marshal. Overall, Eastwood crafts a very chilling yet exciting western about a stranger fighting for what is right.
Cinematographer Bruce Sturees does excellent work with the film‘s very vast and colorful looking including the gorgeous wide shots of the location set in Mono Lake, California. Editor Ferris Webster does brilliant work with the editing from the use of jump-cuts and rhythmic cuts for some of the film‘s violence to the use of dissolves in the flashback scene showing the marshal‘s death. Art director Henry Bumstead and set decorator George Milo do fantastic work with the set pieces from the look of the town including a key look for the film’s climax.
The sound work of James R. Alexander is superb for some of its sound editing in the sound of the whips and gunfire along with some of the intimate moments in the film. The film’s music by Dee Barton is amazing for its eerie and hypnotic score that is a mixture of orchestral music with something that is close to chilling electronic pieces to play up some of its suspense.
The casting by William Batliner and Robert J. LaSanka is terrific for the cast that is assembled as it features some notable small performances from Stefan Gierasch as the town’s mayor, Buddy Van Horn as the marshal who is killed by the bandits, Ted Hartley as the hotel owner Lewis Belding, Walter Barnes as the town sheriff, Robert Donner as the preacher, Jack Ging as a corrupt civic leader, and Mitchell Ryan as the lead civic leader who decides to cheat the stranger. Other noteworthy small roles include Dan Vadis and Anthony James as two of the bandits and Geoffrey Lewis as the lead bandit Stacey Bridges. Billy Curtis is excellent as the half-man Mordecai as the guy who becomes the stranger’s aide and later be the guy to run the town. Marianna Hill is just terrible as the town whore who antagonizes the stranger only to get raped and is just hysterical for most of the film.
Verna Bloom is good in an underwritten role as Belding’s wife Sarah who is wary of the stranger though is aware of what he’s really doing though it’s a role that doesn’t have much depth as she eventually sleeps with the stranger. Finally, there’s Clint Eastwood in a remarkable performance as the mysterious stranger as it’s a role where Eastwood does play this very quiet but charming gunslinger who is also a man that knows right from wrong while being a bit of a brute but also one that can get the job done and not be trifled with.
High Plains Drifter is an excellent film from Clint Eastwood that definitely stands as one of his finest westerns. Though it’s a bit flawed, it is still engaging for its simple story as well as its enchanting direction. Especially as it has enough action that western fans can love as well as the character that Eastwood plays. In the end, High Plains Drifter is a superb film from Clint Eastwood.
(Five Obstructions #2 Interview)
Clint Eastwood Films: (Play Misty for Me) - (Breezy) - (The Eiger Sanction) - (The Outlaw Josey Wales) - (The Gauntlet) - (Bronco Billy) - (Firefox) - (Honkytonk Man) - Sudden Impact - Pale Rider - (Heartbreak Ridge) - (Bird) - (White Hunter Black Heart) - (The Rookie) - Unforgiven - (A Perfect World) - (The Bridges of Madison County) - (Absolute Power) - (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) - (True Crime) - (Space Cowboys) - (Blood Work) - (Mystic River) - Million Dollar Baby - Flags of Our Fathers - Letters from Iwo Jima - Changeling - (Gran Torino) - (Invictus) - (Hereafter) - (J. Edgar) - (Jersey Boys) - American Sniper - (Sully) - (The 15:17 to Paris) - (The Mule)
© thevoid99 2013
