NEON BIBLE, THE (director: Terence Davies; cast: Gena Rowlands (Aunt Mae), Diana Scarwid (Sarah), Jacob Tierney (David, at age 15), Denis Leary (Frank), Leo Burmester (Bobbie Lee Taylor ), Frances Conroy (Miss Scover), Peter McRobbie (Reverend Watkins), Drake Bell (David, at age 10), 1997)
An old-fashioned type of coming-of-age film, shot by the Englishman,Terence Davies (Distant Voices, Still Lives). It is adapted from a semi-autobiographical book written as a teenager in the '50s, for a national literary contest, by John Kennedy Toole. It tells of a Southern boy named David (Tierney) and of his growing up poor and uneducated in the '40s in a rural and backward area. And, the strange hold his harsh father (Leary) and tender mother (Diana) have over him. It also tells about his meaningful relationship with his visiting Aunt Mae (Gena). She is a former actress/singer. They all try to provide him with enough different insights so this gentle soul can find his own way in the world.
When this slow-moving film works, and it often does, it is artistically and subtly satisfying to behold, as it spins its simple story in flashback. David is seen alone in the opening shot riding away from town in a train, going somewhere unknown.
The next time we see him, is in flashback, as he was as a 10-year-old (Drake), hoping for a Christmas snow, but getting rain and magical looking icicles on his porch, instead. What perks him up, is the ebullience of his Auntie Mae, who does not fit into this Bible Belt region. She prefers to dress and act in the style of her showbiz past, and is therefore loudly chastised for her appearance and sinful attitude. When one lives in such a place, where conformity counts for everything, then one either tries to fit into town or leaves. To stay and fight the locals will only ensure you of a most unpleasant time.
Because the aunt and David are different from the locals, this leads to their closeness and dependence on each other. But they are forced to change as their lives change, and this is what affects the sensitive David the most. He is not ready for these changes. David grows up as a loner (unable to communicate with his racist and scornfully pious father, who is also a wife beater). He, is also, unsure of himself with girls and with the making of friends his age. He goes to work full-time at the age of 15, in a pharmacy, and seems to be going nowhere fast.
Sarah gets overcome with the misery and dull routines of her life. We see her lose a grip on reality while she is attending one of those religious revival meetings. Soon afterwards she becomes a basket case worried about how the family will get by with her husband unemployed from his factory job, and has to be taken care of by Aunt Mae. Aunt Mae will meet a local musician and team up with him professionally and romantically, and soon leaves town with him. That leaves David with no choice but to quit his job and take care of his mother, or else she would be taken away to the mental hospital, something he is dead-set against. This leads to the tragic event that causes David to get on the train and hightail it out of there.
All this drama is played out quietly.The camera focuses in for the longest possible time without moving: on the local scenery, on Sarah hanging out the laundry, on the homefolks going about their business, a KKK meeting his father takes him to, Aunt Mae singing "My Romance" slightly off key; and, in the background, we can hear a radio speech by FDR, an episode from Gang Busters, music such as "Dixie" and "This Old Rugged Cross" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo", being sung by the locals. We become absorbed in the national and local events taking place during that time period and see how it influenced the youngster growing up.
The film ends abruptly and magnificently, without a summation of what might happen to David. The train David is on is crossing the countryside in early dawn, framed against an optimistic sky of varying shades of yellows, oranges and pinkish blues.
How this child grew up during that period of transitional Southern history, in a climate of racial bigotry and Christian hypocrisy, in a family with obvious economic, psychological, and cultural problems, sets the mood for this dramatic story. It is this child's insightful look at the world and at himself, and what changes him and forces him to grow up before he is ready to, that makes it a special film.
The cinematography was beautifully done. Gena Rowlands was impressive in a very subtle performance. Jacob Tierney as David, gave his character softness and breath in a laconic performance. The only problem I have with his performance, is that since this is his life story being told, he seems to be too emotionless. I found that hard to fathom; if it was me on that nighttime train, alone, going to who knows where, as my brief life passes before me, I would have certainly been more animated about the situation I was in.
This film is not Davies' best film, it was too dull at times for that; but, it is a solid film, an honestly done effort that was well-researched and presented. It offered an interesting observation about the rural south, that is often filmed, but most of the time, it is done with less tact than how it was done here and with less of a real artistic touch.
REVIEWED ON 3/8/99 GRADE: B
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus's World Movie Reviews"
http://www.sover.net/~ozus
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DENNIS SCHWARTZ
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews