I Dream of Falk - Woman Under the Influence
September 12th 2008 00:39
The other night I had a strange dream. The company I work for during my waking hours was staging the Republican National Convention, the office a cross between the austere layout of 'Boston Public' and the slick state-of-the-art underground command center of 'Alias'. I asked my boss as I was preparing to leave for the day if there was any way I could get in to the convention that night, the penultimate one, because I'd like to feel what it was like to be in the enemy's lair. I was given a ticket but warned that the ticket might not be good for the final speech of the night, in the dream I knew this meant Sen. McCain's speech.
I sat down to look at a convention guide to find out exactly what I would witness. Vaudeville performers and freak show acts were listed page after page, re-runs of 70's TV were to be projected on the screen behind the podium. Nothing about any speeches.My concentration was broken when Ben Gazzara and Peter Falk walked into the conference room I was in and sat down next to me, each with a cup of coffee (which they would assuredly call 'Joe'), this development seemed exhilirtating yet not impossible in my dream, but like a sychophant unable to control his tongue, I couldn't help but remark to Peter how truly incredible I thought 'A Woman Under the Influence' was. I glanced at Ben while saying this too, but fortunately he just nodded, choosing not to embarrass me and point out he was not in the film; I was just trying to be polite. In the dream I actually got a little worked up and looked around the room to see if anyone was looking at the slow tears roll down my face. The room was now full of stock hippies from flower power era films, like the bandana'd face-painted love children from 'Billy Jack' or 'Easy Rider'.
Peter Falk seemed to take my compliment and remark in his usual heavily idiosynchratic way, gesticulating with his hands and mouth and reassuring me with a light touch on the shoulder that my reaction was not inappropriate, but I somehow knew he was thinking "Jesus, it's just a movie".
I think I watch too many movies...
A little bit about 'Woman Under the Influence' after the jump...
I normally don't remember dreams, and although I'd love to examine here the 'freak show' and 'Republican' juxtaposition running through the dream, but I'm afraid that's a rabbit hole I might not return from, so here are a few thoughts about 'A Woman Under the Influence'.
Nick Longhetti (Falk) is a hard working foreman, his team is like family.He often brings them home for dinner or breakfast when a call takes them out on the job at odd times. Nick tries hard to protect the better angels of his nature, but anger, prejudice and his difficulty dealing with them make him a volatile and unpredictable character. Not helping this process is his wife, Mabel (Gena Rowlands) whose eccentricity turns to psychosis in the film. Always right on the edge, she slips into a state where Nick has to make the decision whether to commit her or not. The famous scene in which Nick calls out the family doctor to their home to witness and advise on Mabels state is one of the most harrowing and brilliant single scenes you will ever see. Burrowing so so deep into Mabel, Rowlands seems to possess a double-jointed psyche, able to unhinge and let the character dangle perilously close to the edge and then slip back in to show you the space between. In the 2000 documentary 'A Constant Forge' the cast suggest that their was actually some concern for Rowlands state of mind while the take was rolling. Cassavettes faith in his actors was legendary, using his ensemble troupe film after film, but to stay on the other side of the camera and capture the final tumultuous unraveling of a character played by your partner, when everyone else in the room is worried about her mental state, is truly unprecedented.
I sat down to look at a convention guide to find out exactly what I would witness. Vaudeville performers and freak show acts were listed page after page, re-runs of 70's TV were to be projected on the screen behind the podium. Nothing about any speeches.My concentration was broken when Ben Gazzara and Peter Falk walked into the conference room I was in and sat down next to me, each with a cup of coffee (which they would assuredly call 'Joe'), this development seemed exhilirtating yet not impossible in my dream, but like a sychophant unable to control his tongue, I couldn't help but remark to Peter how truly incredible I thought 'A Woman Under the Influence' was. I glanced at Ben while saying this too, but fortunately he just nodded, choosing not to embarrass me and point out he was not in the film; I was just trying to be polite. In the dream I actually got a little worked up and looked around the room to see if anyone was looking at the slow tears roll down my face. The room was now full of stock hippies from flower power era films, like the bandana'd face-painted love children from 'Billy Jack' or 'Easy Rider'.
Peter Falk seemed to take my compliment and remark in his usual heavily idiosynchratic way, gesticulating with his hands and mouth and reassuring me with a light touch on the shoulder that my reaction was not inappropriate, but I somehow knew he was thinking "Jesus, it's just a movie".
I think I watch too many movies...
A little bit about 'Woman Under the Influence' after the jump...
They vote Republican now...
I normally don't remember dreams, and although I'd love to examine here the 'freak show' and 'Republican' juxtaposition running through the dream, but I'm afraid that's a rabbit hole I might not return from, so here are a few thoughts about 'A Woman Under the Influence'.
Nick Longhetti (Falk) is a hard working foreman, his team is like family.He often brings them home for dinner or breakfast when a call takes them out on the job at odd times. Nick tries hard to protect the better angels of his nature, but anger, prejudice and his difficulty dealing with them make him a volatile and unpredictable character. Not helping this process is his wife, Mabel (Gena Rowlands) whose eccentricity turns to psychosis in the film. Always right on the edge, she slips into a state where Nick has to make the decision whether to commit her or not. The famous scene in which Nick calls out the family doctor to their home to witness and advise on Mabels state is one of the most harrowing and brilliant single scenes you will ever see. Burrowing so so deep into Mabel, Rowlands seems to possess a double-jointed psyche, able to unhinge and let the character dangle perilously close to the edge and then slip back in to show you the space between. In the 2000 documentary 'A Constant Forge' the cast suggest that their was actually some concern for Rowlands state of mind while the take was rolling. Cassavettes faith in his actors was legendary, using his ensemble troupe film after film, but to stay on the other side of the camera and capture the final tumultuous unraveling of a character played by your partner, when everyone else in the room is worried about her mental state, is truly unprecedented.
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