The Scoundrel's Wife (2002)
"Glen is the world's greatest
Cajun filmmaker." - Jerry Daigle, producer
Since the events on 9/11 of last year, "The Scoundrel's
Wife" has gained even more contemporary resonance. That's
the term the director and co-scripter, Glen Petrie,
used in a Q&A at SXSW2002. I like that: "Contemporary
Resonance."
The film is set in 1942 Louisiana where WWII has
just broken-out and Hitler's U-Boats prowl the coast
of the American South blowing up tankers and, in turn,
being sank themselves. Here, in the shrimping village
of Cutoff, LA., the film sets up a story about fear
and redemption that revolves around a widow and her
teenage children and a new doctor in town, a foreigner.
The plot of this film is too interesting to give
away. One should see it. Suffice it to say that the
film is a reminder of how we should act as Americans
in a time of war and that is particularly important
right now.
The acting in the film is near perfect; well, with
one exception. (More about that later). Tatum O'Neal
makes her return to the screen in her first leading
role in nearly a decade. She is flawless, perfection.
O'Neal looks young yet certainly old enough to be a
mother of teenagers. Her freckled snub nose often reminds
us we are watching O'Neal, especially at the beginning
of the film, but it doesn't take long for her remarkable
performance to take us past the facade and into her
character. It is a great comeback.
Likewise, Tim Curry, old Frank-N-Furter himself,
does a marvelous dramatic turn as the local Catholic
priest. Curry rarely gets a chance to sink his teeth
into a role these days, relegated to TV and voice-over
work, and the reason is obvious: He looks like shit.
But he is still remarkably talented. He is awesome here
and his mellifluous voice still resonates every line
of dialogue he speaks. It's great to see him get a chance
to really act and here he performs quite admirably.
The other standout in the film is newcomer Patrick
McCullogh as O'Neal's son Blue. Looking every bit as
cute and as innocent as Chris Klien at a picnic, McCullogh
pulls off a challenging role with brilliance. His ability
to be both proud and wounded make his character strong
and sympathetic. It's a wonderful debut.
The only bad choice in the film is Julian Sands
as the foreign doctor. To be fair to Sands, we are not
supposed to be able to figure out exactly where he is
from by his accent, or if he is Jewish or what. But
Sands is and always has been a pretty poor actor and
he only mildly alleviates that judgement here. Sure,
we grow to care about his character as the film progresses
but it is the film's momentum and the other marvellous
actors in the piece, particularly O'Neal, that really
make that happen. Sands is way out of his league here
and his accent is almost laughable at times.
The script here, by Petrie and his wife Michelle
Benoit, works almost perfectly until the final climax.
Although the final scene suffers from a bit of preachy
contrivance, it can be forgiven. The Petries have crafted
an excellent script that reminds us how easily it is
to become involved in witchhunts. In an era where patriotism
has reached heights that haven't been seen since WWII,
it is important to remember that we as Americans cannot
resort to the level of the enemy lest we become them.
The antagonistic characters here are vivid and frightening
reminders of how tenuous freedom and democracy is. It's
important stuff.
Filmed in Lockport Louisiana, the film is set in
Petrie's hometown of Cutoff, LA and based on stories
he heard as a child. The idea that German U-Boats were
along the Gulf coast in 1942 seems almost unbelievable
to us now. We were often reminded, before 9/11, that
no act of war had occurred on American soil in over
100 years. We forget just how close WWII came to the
states. This is an important history lesson and one
that should be remembered.
In a era flooded with war movies, "The Scoundrel's
Wife" is yet another important film of that genre. Here,
the wartime homeland is explored in a way it never was
before on celluloid. This film is a poignant reminder
that in war we must never surrender the ideals that
we are actually fighting for. That's very, very important.
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Report
Card
Script:
A
Acting: A
Cinematography\Lighting: A+
Special Effects\Make Up: A+
Music: C+
Final
Grade: A
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