WRESTLING ERNEST HEMINGWAY
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1994 Scott Renshaw
Starring: Robert Duvall, Richard Harris, Sandra Bullock, Piper Laurie, Shirley MacLaine. Screenplay: Steve Conrad. Director: Randa Haines.
Hollywood films focusing on the elderly have generally fallen into two broad categories: comedies making them lovable codgers whose most mundane physical activity is turned into slapstick, and melodramas about loneliness and facing death. We've already had one from Column A this winter--GRUMPY OLD MEN--which makes it somewhat surprising to see WRESTLING ERNEST HEMINGWAY so soon, even though it falls under Column B; studios are notoriously fastidious in avoiding conflict with target demographics. WRESTLING ERNEST HEMINGWAY is melodramatic, and its pacing is rather slow, but it is also filled with fine acting and quirky but believable relationships, and ultimately proves quite satisfying.
WRESTLING ERNEST HEMINGWAY is the story of two older men who develop an unlikely friendship. Frank (Richard Harris) is a randy and boisterous ex-sailor fond of telling the story of the time he wrestled Ernest Hemingway in Puerto Rico; Walter (Robert Duvall) is a Cuban barber, both retired and retiring. The two seem to share little in common except their loneliness: Frank's son backs out on a visit for his 75th birthday, while Walter practices dancing alone, admiring from afar the friendly waitress (Sandra Bullock) at his favorite diner. As they spend time together, they gradually begin to have an effect on one another, Walter realizing he's lived safely for too long, and Frank realizing he still has growing up to do.
The only time that HEMINGWAY really missteps is in its forced plot. It's obvious as soon as the two men meet that the two opposites will attract and change each other, and that somewhere along the line (plot point #2 for you aspiring screenwriters) they will have a falling out. Director Randa Haines (CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD) plays up scenes like a shared skinny-dip and a certain male bonding ritual on the 4th of July, which come off as more than a little silly, and the score by Michael Convertino is enough to make one's teeth ache. Parts of WRESTLING ERNEST HEMINGWAY script themselves, and writer Steve Conrad tries to get away with that laziness in his plotting.
It is to his credit that when he lets his characters talk to each other, things get much more interesting. Harris and Duvall are marvelous together, sharing a couple of poignant scenes where each man, clearly thrilled simply to have someone to talk to, carries on a practically independent conversation. Yet this central relationship is only one of several which truly shine. Sandra Bullock (Stallone's partner in DEMOLITION MAN) is thoroughly charming as Elaine, the waitress for whom Walter carries a torch. She demonstrates a genuine affection for him, one which never comes off as patronizing; their connection is sweet and very affirming. Frank, meanwhile, spars with his no-nonsense landlady, played perfectly by Shirley MacLaine. Her tough-love attempts to help Frank through his troubles and to lend a friendly ear are spare and well-played. However, perhaps my favorite interaction involved Frank's attempt to romance a proper older woman named Georgia, played by Piper Laurie. In a small role, Laurie is fantastic, showing Georgia's enjoyment of Frank's flirtations coupled with her insistence on a decorum which Frank finds difficult. From top to bottom, the cast creates a rich and real collection of characters whose interplay is exceptionally touching.
It would be unfair to complete a review of WRESTLING ERNEST HEMINGWAY without giving the two central performances their due. Harris, as usual, is bigger than life, but the role of Frank calls for such a reading, and it is testemony to his craft that Frank never seems pathetic. Robert Duvall, meanwhile, disappears into Walter. A lesser actor would have turned in a much more mannered performance, overdoing Walter's habit of inspecting his beloved bacon sandwiches before eating them. Their screenwriter and director force them to jump through some unnecessary hoops, but when they're left to do their own thing, WRESTLING ERNEST HEMINGWAY becomes an appealing drama about the need for contact.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 bacon sandwiches: 7.
-- Scott Renshaw Stanford University Office of the General Counsel
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