Paul Newman would have been 90 today

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angela lansbury, ben quick, big daddy, brick pollitt, buffalo bill cody, butch cassidy and the sundance kid, cat on a hot tin roof, charlestown chiefs, cool hand luke, elizabeth taylor, failure to communicate, fast eddie felson, hollywood, hud, hud bannon, jackie gleason, james wong howe, joanne woodward, judge roy bean, lee remick, long hot summer, lucas jackson, maggie, martin scorsese, melvyn douglas, minnesota fats, orson welles, patricia neal, paul newman, reg dunlop, robert redford, skipper, snopes, tennessee williams, the color of money, the hustler, william faulkner

Although Paul Newman passed away seven years ago, I still miss him. His charisma on-screen and his incredible charity off-screen made him almost too good to be true. A dedicated family man who didn’t care for the distractions of Hollywood, Newman went about his business as I wish many actors would today. His roles were many, his talent deep, his love of life unparalleled. Today would have been his 90th birthday, and while he may well have quit acting by now if he were still with us, having him as a resource for stories and anecdotes about old time Hollywood should would be nice. He is my favorite actor and his approach to his roles has given them life well beyond his own. I would assume that’s what every actor would hope.

And while we’re at it, here’s my list of favorite roles. Newman had the capability to bring something you might not expect to each role he inhabited. He, to me, is the blueprint for what an actor, and human being, should be.

Here we go:

Ben Quick – The Long Hot Summer

Newman plays a bad boy who can only be tamed by the love of a certain woman. That that woman also happens to be played by his future wife Joanne Woodward is pretty damn awesome. Orson Welles, Angela Lansbury and a gorgeous young Lee Remick round out this fantastic tale based on the Snopes stories by William Faulkner.

Lucas Jackson – Cool Hand Luke

One of Newman‘s most iconic roles, Cool Hand Luke shows us the story of Lucas Jackson as he tries to weather his time in a rural prison. Unwilling to adapt to rules, Luke butts heads with everyone from the prisoners to the guards to the superintendent in what has been famously said is “a failure to communicate.” Newman is off his ass in this one.

Hud Bannon – Hud

Here is Newman in another role as bad boy, although this time he can’t be tamed. Hud takes what he wants, when he wants it. Some find this endearing…others not so much. Newman lost out on an Oscar to fellow co-star Melvyn Douglas for this role. Patricia Neal also won for Best Actress in this one. A truly incredible film, exquisitely shot by James Wong Howe.

“Fast” Eddie Felson – The Hustler

Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) vs. Fast Eddie Felson – one of the great battles in cinema history all done over 9′ x 4.5′ table. Pool table, that is. Easily one of Newman‘s most recognizable roles (he reprised it for Martin Scorsese‘s The Color of Money, for which he won his only Oscar), Fast Eddie is a cautionary tale as much as a hero. I didn’t see this film until I was in my 20s. A shame really. It’s worth as many watches as you will allow.

Butch Cassidy – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

What to say about this role other than it is so fucking good? Newman operated so well in any genre. He tackled the Western with as much vigor, humor and gusto as he did with any others (he would go on to make two more Westerns in iconic roles as Buffalo Bill Cody and Judge Roy Bean). Acting opposite Robert Redford in his breakout role, Newman created one of his most memorable characters.

Brick Pollitt – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Oozing with sex appeal, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof pits Newman alongside Elizabeth Taylor at the height of her career as they battle one another in the adaptation of Tennesse Williams‘ play. An angry Brick wants nothing to do with his wife Maggie (Taylor) as he rests at his rich father’s estate after breaking his ankle while consumed with grief over the loss of his friend (and possibly lover) Skipper. In one of the great depictions of spiteful marriage, Newman shines as only he can. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is the confluence of everything I adore about classic Hollywood.

Reg Dunlop – Slap Shot

It should be no small surprise that I would rate Newman‘s performance in Slap Shot as my favorite. It is, after all, my favorite film of all time. Newman owns his role as Reg Dunlop, the lovable loser player-coach for the failing Charlestown Chiefs. Blue collar to the bone, Dunlop’s schemes raise the profile of a hockey team that everyone has written off, even its owner. That we get to see Newman in a caramel-colored leather suit (see above for its deliciousness) as well as other amazing 70s threads make it all the more worthwhile. I can’t really describe my love for this film enough. Watching a foul-mouthed Newman skate and mix it up on the ice is truly one of the great pleasures of my life.

So there you have it. I’m so nostalgic right now, I wish I could hunker down and watch all of these films in a row. Another day perhaps.

 

Indianapolis International Film Festival Coverage – Vincent Grashaw’s Coldwater

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based on actual events, bellflower, boot camp, chris petrovski, coldwater, cool hand luke, james c. burns, jesus, juvenile detention facilities, lord of the flies, melrose place, octavius johnson, oscilloscope, p.j. boudousque, ryan gosling, sandlot, squints, stephanie simbari, thomas calabro, unregulated, vincent grashaw

Coldwater is the debut film written and directed by Vincent Grashaw, who acted in, produced, edited and operated cameras for Oscilloscope’s 2011 apocalyptic Bellflower. Coldwater swims in the same pool as Bellflower, rife with similar tones and structure, although isn’t quite as successful as its predecessor. 

Brad Lunders, problem child.

Based on stories about the sometimes corrupt and often unregulated private juvenile detention business, Coldwater tells the story of Brad Lunders (P.J. Boudousqué), a teen of an indeterminate age (we assume he’s out of high school) who works as a mechanic, but whose main source of income is selling various types of drugs. He lives at home with his mother and his new stepfather having a tenuous relationship at best with both. Brad is a screw up. Everyone knows it. Even his girlfriend, Erin (Stephanie Simbari) knows this. She tries to reel him in from his drug exploits when she sees him and his friend Gabriel (Chris Petrovski) exchange a large quantity of money. But he doesn’t heed her warning. When a fight breaks out between Brad and two men he had been doing business  with (one of whom was Squints from The Sandlot) at Erin’s house, a gun is pulled…and we cut to Brad in a police car, a tragedy having occurred. A cut to what we think is the next morning, shows two dark-uniformed men grabbing Brad, zip-tying his hands behind his back, and escorting him to and throwing him into a van, all while his mother and stepfather watch, obviously complicit in his removal.

We are in the business of transformations, boys…

Brad is taken, along with Jonas (Octavius Johnson) to Coldwater, a military-style boot camp for incorrigible youths, run by the retired Marine Corps Col. Frank Reichardt (veteran soap opera actor James C. Burns). Reichardt plays it up like he is a tough, but fair, man. And if you play by his rules, show improvement and accept the adjustments he and his staff “offer”, then all who are there will be free to go. But as the film trundles along, we can see he is anything but fair. Allowing his staff to use brutal force when necessary and neglecting problems in need of help, Coldwater resembles hell more and more to the boys trapped there. If they try to escape, they are mercilessly punished, all in the game of breaking their spirits one by one.

Lunders, can I trust you?

At first, Brad doesn’t play their game, but soon enough he learns. After helping Jonas when he is injured by one of the guards, they are both punished, handcuffed and hung by their wrists from the ceiling of a hotbox, deprived of food, water and sleep. When the injury that Jonas incurred from the guard initially gets so bad he is taken away in an ambulance (we later find out that his leg had to be amputated), Brad decides he has to get out. When he breaks out he is taken in by a family who he tells the stories of the abuse that he and the others incur at Coldwater. Unable to tell whether he’s lying, the man calls the sheriff who has no choice but to take Brad back to camp since he has no proof of what he has told. Note this moment, as it comes back into play later in the film. So after the sheriff leaves, Brad is dealt his punishment for fleeing in the form of a public beating to warn the others as to what will happen if they do the same.

Flash forward two years (TWO YEARS!!!) – Brad is still at Coldwater as are the bulk of the others who were there before. However, Brad is now barracks commandant, in the pocket of the Colonel and the other staff. He manages the other prisoners as told and is an exemplary inmate. But all is not as it seems as Brad plays his own slow burn game of cat and mouse with the Colonel, the staff and the other inmates. And all of that changes when Gabriel, his old buddy, find himself interned in the camp as well. To continue with the plot lines would be to spoil the film. I’d like to leave something for you to experience should you choose to watch this one.

by Francisco de Zurbaran

Religious overtones surround Brad throughout the film – he wears his father’s cross around his neck, but gives it to Gabriel the night before he is taken to Coldwater, effectively losing his religion (and Heavenly protection) only to gain it back at the end of the film when he has recovered his faith, so to speak. One can’t help but to see the similarities between the way he and Jonas were hung in the hotbox and the way Christ is depicted hanging from the cross in millions of pictures, paintings and crucifixes. When he is busted for breaking out of the camp, he is forced to strip and is lashed repeatedly in front of the rest of the “inmates” just as Christ was at Pilate’s Praetorium. The way he sacrificed himself for the others…pretty obvious.

That said, this movie was okay. P.J. Boudousqué has a similar look and feel to Ryan Gosling, but is obviously nowhere near the same plane acting-wise, so I can see where he might do some good work down the line. He was the best part of this one, so I’ll be curious to see where he ends up. James C. Burns was grossly miscast. For the entire film, I thought he was Thomas Calabro from Melrose Place. That’s not a good thing. The Colonel was flimsy as a character and even when his flaws came into play, it just didn’t matter as I didn’t really give a shit about him, his methods or his story. He had a purpose to serve and Grashaw tried (and failed in my opinion) to give him another level. The structure of the film is filled with flashbacks that give you, piece by piece, Brad’s backstory and the full tale of how he landed at Coldwater. They are poorly set up to give certain bits of information as big reveals, but they lack power and they carry less punch than had the film be edited chronologically since they don’t really reveal anything that couldn’t be seen a mile ahead of time. Another flashback sequence occurs at the end of the film that adds to an already confusing conclusion. Once again, the information revealed doesn’t quite pack the punch one would expect.

There are narrative similarities between it and Cool Hand Luke – setting, aversive conditioning, breaking the spirit of the strong willed, etc. – but that’s where that conversation can end. This film is nowhere near as lush or layered as Cool Hand Luke, but let’s be honest, how many are? It even goes a little Lord of the Flies at the end. So if that sounds like your cup of tea, then Coldwater may be for you. I didn’t connect with this film as the script and the film structure left a lot to be desired. But that’s just me…

Here’s the trailer: