STATE AND MAIN
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: David Mamet has written a very
funny and very telling film about the making and
unmaking of a film. Like a madcap DAY FOR
NIGHT, the story has many of the film crew and
actors work out their lives while the director
will go to any lengths, legal or illegal, to get
some film made, whether it is the original story
or not. This is probably David Mamet's most
enjoyable film to date. Alternately wacky and
endearing. Rating: 8 (0 to 10), high +2 (-4 to
+4)
David Mamet originally came to the public's attention by writing stories of hucksters and con men and corporate crime. He wrote stories like his mysterious play "The Water Engine," HOUSE OF GAMES, and the Runyonesque THINGS CHANGE. The man is a writer and a director, and he wrote about crime as a personal interest. Now he has written a film about con men he really knows. His STATE AND MAIN in a large part about a con man a director and a nearly honest and innocent writer coming to conflict over an adaptation of the writer's play. Mamet has sprinkled in a number of other characters from film-making but he has written about things close to his own experience. The result is a sort of madcap comedy in which Mamet the director gets to argue with Mamet the writer in the middle of the chaos of making a film.
Mamet gives us a view of the film-making process as being one large, crazy circus. The film the film company has come to town to shoot is THE OLD MILL. They had already been ready to film it in New Hampshire and had a great mill set they actually built, but something happened and, well, now they are filming in Waterford, Vermont, instead. Waterford was chosen because of its classic old mill. Unfortunately, they are not going to be able to use the mill because, well, something else happened. Now they are madly trying to make things fit.
At the center of the chaos, and few films make the film-making process such a storm of chaos, is Walt Price (played by William H. Macy) the Machiavellian director who will do absolutely whatever is necessary to have a film all shot when the storm dies down. Part con man, part genius he jumps from one crisis to the next in seconds, frequently changing his personality to fit the circumstance. The writer, Joseph Turner White (at last a starring role for Philip Seymour Hoffman), would like to have Price's film be at least reminiscent of the script he had written for it and the play it was based on. Meanwhile White finds himself attracted to Ann Black (Mamet regular Rebecca Pidgeon), a townie who had read his play and actually seems to understand it better than he does himself.
Meanwhile in the background the other cast and crew members are adding to the confusion. Adding to the confusion is a lead actress (Sarah Jessica Parker) who has found religion and refuses to shoot her nude scene and a heartthrob lead actor (Alec Baldwin) with a predilection for strong drink and under-age girls. Add to the mix a totally unscrupulous producer (David Paymer) with a goal to save money wherever he can and nearly as clever at getting what he wants as Price is. But the film has a large cast and several stories are working themselves out at the same time.
As is frequently the case, Mamet has carefully crafted a script with a plethora of clever touches. The film being made is based on a play of pretentious claptrap, yet most of the themes of that play are exemplified, and probably better, in the film STATE AND MAIN itself. The issues that the play is about are also the issues that the filmmakers have to face. Several of the decisions about the film being made seem to be mirrored in the outer film. Mamet demonstrates a flair for one-liners that few of his previous films have demonstrated. The film is a treasure chest of running gags and self-referential jokes. Mamet's dialog is well-delivered if not entirely realistic and believable.
STATE AND MAIN covers territory previously covered by films about shooting films like DAY FOR NIGHT and LIVING IN OBLIVION and to a lessor extent films about the industry like THE BIG PICTURE and THE PLAYER. Still the script is one of the better ones of the pack. I rate it 8 on the 0 to 10 scale and a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale. And trust me on this one: you want to stay through the end credits.
Now I have done it. I am going to get a bunch of people writing me saying they walked out on the credits and asking what they missed. Do not read the following until you have seen the film. Here are jokes in the credits rotated 13 letters (rot13):
1. Gur pybfvat perqvgf fbat vf "Gur Byq Zvyy." Jura vg vf bire lbh urne n ibvpr pbzr ba vasbezvat gur fvatre gurl ryvzvangrq gur zvyy sebz gur svyz naq unir gb guebj bhg gur fbat.
2. N zrffntr fnlf "N yvfg bs gur Nffbpvngr Cebqhpref sbe guvf svyz vf ninvynoyr ba erdhrfg."
3. Na bssvpvny ybbxvat pregvsvpngr sebz gur uhznar fbpvrgl nffherf hf gung bayl *2* navznyf jrer unezrq va gur znxvat bs guvf cvpgher. (N yngre fgngrzrag fnlf gung npghnyyl abar jrer unezrq.)
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@avaya.com
Copyright 2001 Mark R. Leeper
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