Joe Gould's Secret (2000)

As a director, Stanley Tucci makes films that are adequate but nothing spectacular. This would be the beginning of my review if it weren't for one exquisite scene of cinematic purity in each of his dramas. In "Big Night," the final continuous shot that ends the film is nothing short of masterful. It takes the film over the top from simply good to beautiful experience. It is almost perfection. In "Joe Gould's Secret," Tucci's latest film - also set in the 40's, the scene comes not at the end, but very close to it. In it, in a subtle and almost perfunctory sequence, Tucci, as Gould's "biographer," Joe Mitchell, reveals himself at a party as a writer of almost equal qualities to his "subject." It's one of those simple and crystalized moments in time where we see clearly the differences - and more importantly - the likeness of Tucci's Mitchell and Ian Holm's "Joe Gould."

Mitchell was a "New Yorker" magazine columnist in the 40's, Gould was the subject of an article. Holm portrays Gould as a loveable yet perplexing and quirky street vagabond who fluctuates between homeless street person and intelligent "Bohemian;" This in our minds as well as in Mitchell's. It's a wonderful performance that, unfortunately, recalls Joe Pesci on a good day. Holm, nonetheless, is marvellous within it's realm. Meanwhile Tucci portrays Mitchell as a quiet, shy (therefore almost inarticulate) Southerner with a sense of family and almost as wondrous as his sense of humor. Tucci's Mitchell seems an innate writer and observer. His crystal clear images of life and work and writing are not hard-and- fast, and therefore stereotypical. Rather, Tucci reveals Mitchell through his performance as a more subdued and quiet sort of man. It is in his opposing characterizations to Holm's Gould the he eventually becomes the more interesting of the two. Holm, as always, does consummate work. But it is Tucci's Mitchell that really drives the film. Experiencing the relationship with Gould through his eyes, we grow to love and admire both men for their interesting qualities, one understated, the other overbearing.

Tucci's film, like the character he portrays, is wonderful, intelligent, and understated. It's truly a sweet and lovely film. The dialogue, the pacing, the characters and actors, the sense of the time and setting all culminate into a wonderful sort of jambalaya topped off with apple pie. It's hard to not like the film, even when it does nothing particularly new or spectacular for the majority of it's running time. It just grows on us.

There are several big names in the film each with little tidbits to add to the picture. Susan Sarandon as painter Alice Neel; Patricia Clarkson (Tucci's co-star from TV's "Murder One" - the role that drew him to our collective pop culture attention) as a gallery owner; Hope Davis as Mitchell's wife, a photographer whose work draws us into the feeling and the style of the day; Steve Martin, in what amounts to a cameo, as a publisher; Celia Weston, in a wonderful, small supporting role as a receptionist; These actors, and many who are not immediately recognizable, draw us ever so deftly into the story and the feeling of the film. It's almost magic.

Also important is the work of score composer Evan Lurie whose wonderful piano compositions add character and depth to the film. Tucci's subtle style uses these also subtle score pieces to perfectly enhance the film. It's beautiful in this and many other ways.

"Joe Gould's Secret" isn't an earth-shattering masterpiece. It isn't cinematic marvel. It isn't flashy or trendy or showy or indie or the flavor of the month. It's what we used to call a "quiet little film." That is it's beauty. The story it tells, the characters it reveals, the ideas and thoughts it represents are all just little jewels, little nuggets of simple truth. It is Tucci's subtle touch that has genius and masterpiece written all over it.

Note:

Tucci also acts as a producer here.

Report Card

Script: A

Acting: A-

Cinematography\Lighting: A

Special Effects\Make Up: A+

Music: A+

Final Grade: A