50s before dying in a car crash. As with many great artists, Pollock was
a mental case; he was an undiagnosed manic-depressive whose life was
characterized by periods of self-destructive binges followed by giddy
bouts of joy and creativity. Ed Harris has been pushing a screen
biography of Jackson Pollock for amost 10 years and finally steps into
the director/producer/lead actor roles to fulfill his obsession.
Although he his wearing many hats in this production his screen presence
doesn't suffer. His portrayal of Jackson is precise and effectively
realized. We see in Harris' performance a man who is driven by unseen
forces to great highs and great lows.
The best scenes in the film are those that illustrate the creative
process. They're wild and energetic, and it's during those sequences
that Harris does his best directing. Colors are splashed on canvas as
Pollock tunes out the outside world to concentrate exclusively on his
work. The use of unconventional camera angles and quick cuts inviogrates
these scenes. In particular the parallels drawn from Jackson enjoying
gardening and starting to work on canvas laid upon the floor are very
inspirational. Also, the destruction of personality versus the joy of
nature and solitude are quite effective in drawing the audience into the
film.
The other characters who drift into and out of Jackson Pollock's life,
including his wife, Lee Krasner, and art collector Peggy Guggenheim could
have been better illustrated - they need filling in. This aspect of the
movie feels more like an incomplete sketch than a detailed portrait.
Overall, the movie presents a good, straightforward chronicle of
Pollock's art and his troubled life. I did find myself wishing that the
movie would delve more deeply into why Pollock should be regarded
differently from the hundreds of other great artists whose lives followed
essentially the same trajectory as his.
Rating: 3 stars (out of 4)