Film Review : POLLOCK * * * *

Pollock (2000)

CAST Ed Harris, Marcia Gay Harden, Amy Madigan, Jennifer Connelly, Jeffrey Tambor, Jon Heard, Val Kilmer

DIRECTOR Ed Harris

In Ed Harris' directing debut, we see a bright directing future for one of the most under appreciated and greatest of living actors. Pollock delves so deeply in to the person, it almost stands up to the likes of Taxi Driver or Raging Bull in exploring the human self.

The movie is based on the book Jackson Pollock : An American Tragedy, which was written by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith. It begins in the early days of Pollock's artistic career. Admired by a close circle of local painters, yet not appreciated by the whole artistic world. He meets Lee Krasner, a struggling yet talented painter in her own right. She really like Pollock's work, so she pursues in helping get his career of the ground, and in the meantime they fall in love. Or, as much as Pollock can fall in love.

Jackson Pollock is a mean womanizer, a drunk, and filled with low self esteem. There is an underlying tone of arrogance in him conveying to the audience (or atleast me anyway) that deep down he knows he is a great artist. Lee Krasner pretty much gives up her painting to help pollock achieve the recognition she feels he deserves.

This is a standout performance by Ed Harris in the lead role. He carries just the right note in every scene. We see his highs and his lows. He is self destructive and ultimately that is his demise. Harris also carries the torch convincingly in the director's chair. I see no leaning to any one directors style. He has his own. A very rich textured look with serious emphasis on the characters faces and bodies to see their emotions. Marcia Gay Harden puts in the best performance of her career as Lee Krasner. A woman so wrapped up in Pollock, she not only deserts her own career, but herself as well.

A Time magazine reporter asks Jackson How he knows when he is done with a painting. He replies "How do you know when you're making love?"
To Pollock, painting was like making love. When he painted seemed to be the only time when he was purely happy. One of the ten best films of the last ten years.