Rating: 

The Info

Directed by: Tim Robbins
Written by: Tim Robbins
Starring: Hank Azaria, Ruben Blades, Joan & John Cusack, Cary Elwes, Philip Baker Hall, Cherry Jones, Angus MacFadyen, Bill Murray, Vanessa Redgrave, Susan Sarandon, Jamey Sheridan, John Turturro, Emily Watson
Produced by: Lydia Dean-Pilcher, Jon Kilik, Tim Robbins

The Nutshell

Orson Welles directs an anti-corporate America play in the '30s as a steel worker's strike makes his timing unfortunate.

The Review

     Back in the thirties, a man named Marc Blitzstein (Azaria) wrote a musical called The Cradle Will Rock, about the plight of unionized workers and the corrupt, greedy control exerted by corporate America. His play had the misfortune of opening at the same time that steel workers were striking, and the U.S. government was concerned that the theatre was full of communists. This concern arose partly because of the influence of  Hallie Flanagan (Jones), who ran the WPA, an organization set up to run a nation-wide theatre program, and who had spent time in Russia. Blitzstein's blatantly pro-union opus was being directed by none other than Orson Welles (MacFadyen), and was shut down one day before opening due to government cuts. The result was an illegal showing of Cradle in a different theatre, with no props, costumes or sets. This surprising and emotional showing of the musical brings all of the film's themes together into one frantic, stirring finale which almost makes up for the rest of the film's poorer qualities.

    Robbins has pulled together an impressive ensemble cast including Emily Watson, John Turturro and Cherry Jones, some of the best actors alive. They inhabit multiple storylines which touch on the freedom of the arts theme to various degrees. John Cusack is Nelson Rockefeller, who hires renowned artist Diego Rivera to paint a mural for his building. Rivera's revolutionary slant shows up in his work, and Rockefeller simply can't handle the mural's riskier aspects (such as the suggested correlation between rich businessmen and syphilis). Philip Baker Hall is Gray Mathers, the owner of a steel company who is willing to sell to anyone, including fascist Italy, while his wife Countess LaGrange (Redgrave) mostly ignores him in favour of more cultured pastimes. There is the story of a homeless actress (Watson), an actor (Turturro) struggling to provide for his family, a Vaudeville ventriloquist (Murray) who inadvertently causes a friend (Joan Cusack) to testify to Congress that there are indeed Communists amuck in the theatre program, not to mention Susan Sarandon as Mussolini's emissary. The problem with these characters is that they are all two-dimensional; the industrialists are all bad and the actors are all good. Welles is a caricature as MacFadyen has him ranting and raving to the point of foaming at the mouth. Perhaps the only character with some depth is Blitzstein, as we are given a glimpse into the workings of his imagination.

    Robbins has undertaken a noble cause here, the plight of the artist. He asks us to ponder how much an artist can change his work to suit others before he has become a prostitute. He questions any influence placed on artists by those with the purse strings, and defies anything to stand in the way of artistic license. These are indeed great causes, and worthy to be championed by a film, but nothing is this black and white. Robbins gets so caught up in making sure that his message gets across that in one scene, he flashes the syphilis cell from Diego's mural eight times. Perhaps he just needed more faith in his work, since his film is otherwise very strong and delivers his message adeptly.

    Cradle Will Rock is a period film about the '30s. Production designer Richard Hoover has nicely captured the era's attempts to emerge from the Depression. The cars, the clothing, and the early concerns of the government about Communism all contribute to an understands of the film's setting. The original music by David Robbins and the music from Blitzstein's musical also add an air of authenticity to the film. Robbins weaves too quickly through his storylines, giving the film a slightly disjointed, confused feel at times. The mood swings from cheap laughs (inept Vaudeville trainees trying to learn ventriloquism) to serious drama (a father refusing his family's money out of pride) and keeps us from fully enjoying the film. However, unneeded scenes notwithstanding, Robbins is a very capable director, and his film has a constant professionalism that shows the mark of a confident filmmaker. While not Robbins' best work, it is still better than most of Hollywood's offerings.

    Cradle Will Rock works best as a behind the scenes look at the production of a play. The second half of the film contains several frenetic scenes where the camera swerves back and forth between as many as ten different actors, musicians and producers behind the stage as arguments, shouting, crying and histrionics all merge into a single, chaotic mess. The staging of the musical by a group of actors frightened of even performing (their union forbids it out of fear of the government), from seats in a dusty old theatre is the film's high point, as it is the only time that the emotions brewing inside of them get a chance to break out, giving us a riveting stage production that, while abridged and manipulated for the screen, nonetheless shows how the common actor must have felt back then in America. Robbins has written as many bad parts as he has good, but Cradle Will Rock is still an example of confident, able filmmaking. At a time of year when crap like Supernova is playing, this may well be your best choice to go see.

Copyright - Tim Chandler

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