BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA
A film review by Alex Fung
Copyright 1996 Alex Fung
(1996) Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ron Eldard, Glenne Headley, Lyle Lovett, Jena Malone, Dermot Mulroney, Christina Ricci Screenplay by Anne Meredith, based on the book by Dorothy Allison Produced by Amanda DiGiulio Directed by Anjelica Huston Running time: 97 minutes
Me: *** (out of four stars)
Note: Some may consider portions of the following text to
be spoilers. Be forewarned.
For more than a decade, Anjelica Huston has been one of America's finest actresses. In her directorial debut, BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA, based upon Dorothy Allison's largely autobiographical book on child abuse and poverty in the South, Huston displays impressive proficiency behind the camera as well.
The film tells the story of Ruth Anne Boatwright, nicknamed Bone by one of her uncles at birth, in post-World War II South Carolina. Through voice-over (narration done by Laura Dern), we find that she nearly didn't survive birth, as her single mother Anney, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, was thrown through the windshield during an automobile accident. That's just the beginning of her troubles. Bone is deemed illegitimate on her birth certificate, a social stigma which her mother and her large poor family obsesses over for years to come.
Anney meets and weds Lyle, a kind man and good stepfather whom gives Bone a baby sister before dying in an automobile accident. Anney's brother Earle, played by Michael Rooker, introduces her to Glen, played by Ron Eldard, a co-worker at the mill. Glen, the black sheep of a wealthy family ("When are you gonna make your daddy proud? I'll tell you when - never!" he's told) and filled with bitterness, courts Anney and eventually wins her, despite warnings of a violent temper. When Anney miscarries with his much-prized baby boy, Glen loses his capability to supress his violent outbursts and begins to direct them at Bone, beating and abusing her, while the love-dependent Anney tries to turn a blind eye and justify his behaviour. Things turn for the worse when Glen loses his job and the family of four sink into impoverishment.
While set several decades ago, this story remains completely relevant in today's society, where abused wives return to their husbands, and abuse committed against children by one spouse is routinely overlooked by the other.
The real star of this domestic drama is not top-billed Jennifer Jason Leigh, but child actress Jena Malone, who plays Bone in a wrenching and wholly impressive debut performance. Her work is of award-calibre, and in this age in which a preponderence of superb child performers have emerged (Kirsten Dunst, Tina Majorino, Anna Paquin, Natalie Portman, Christina Ricci, Elijah Wood), Malone's performance stands up well. Leigh's performance in BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA is fine, although she's not really given much to do, and Ron Eldard work is very solid, skillfully manouvering his character's moods in and out of explosive rage. One can always sense that underneath his Glen is a pressure-cooker ticking away. Of the supporting cast, special note must be made of the criminally underrated Michael Rooker's performance.
There's a bit too much generic formulaism in the screenplay for my taste, from the various characters spouting off country bumpkinisms, to the familiar sight of a dried-up uptight wise old Granny (played by Grace Zabriskie) sitting on the porch rocking chair, to impassioned soliloquies better suited for a stage performance. Still, it cannot be denied that Anne Meredith's screenplay contains a wallop of emotional power.
Huston's direction of the film is surehanded and impressive, giving the film good pacing and eliciting good performances from her cast, particularly the young Malone. Her sequences of child abuse are shot in a hard-hitting emotional, rather than graphic, manner, and are very effective. Huston's talent with camera positioning is wonderful, from a visually striking shot done through a fan, to an extended sequence in the front seat of an automobile.
The film has the toned-down feel of a television production; BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA was originally composed and cut for broadcast on the TNT cable station, who ended up declining the film due to sentiments that scenes of abuse and rape in the film were too disturbingly realistic for their audience. Perhaps some sequences of the film may be unpleasant, but as a whole BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA adds up to a powerful viewer experience worth seeing.
-- Alex Fung (aw220@freenet.carleton.ca)
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