{"id":566,"date":"2011-04-18T01:14:31","date_gmt":"2011-04-18T05:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jonesing4movies.com\/?p=566"},"modified":"2011-04-18T01:30:08","modified_gmt":"2011-04-18T05:30:08","slug":"atlas-shrugged-part-i-2011-movie-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jonesing4movies.com\/?p=566","title":{"rendered":"Atlas Shrugged, Part I (2011) – Movie Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Grant Bowler and Taylor Schilling make a discovery in "Atlas Shrugged, Part I"<\/p><\/div>\n

Back to the Old Drawing Board<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n

[xrr rating=3\/5]<\/p>\n

\u201cA house can have integrity, just like a person; and just as seldom\u2026.No two buildings have the same purpose. The purpose, the site, the material determine the shape. Nothing can be reasonable or beautiful unless it\u2019s made by one central idea, and the idea sets every detail. A building is alive, like a man. Its integrity is to follow its own truth, its one single theme, and to serve its own single purpose.\u201d \u2013 Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead<\/em>, 1943.<\/p>\n

The same goes for movies. John Aglialoro, the multimillionaire who just spent nearly $20 million of his own money to finance the movie version of Atlas Shrugged<\/em>, would have done well to re-read Rand\u2019s ultimate aesthetic statement before embarking on the Quixotic task of adapting her ultimate philosophical<\/em> statement to the big screen.<\/p>\n

Therein lies the problem.\u00a0 Ever since Rand herself wrote the screenplay for Warner Bros.\u2019 1949 version of The Fountainhead<\/em>, she \u2013 as well as her Objectivist progeny \u2013 have been on guard in protecting the thematic integrity of any filmed version of her next and final novel, Atlas Shrugged. <\/em>Rand got burned by studio chief Jack Warner and producer Henry Blanke on protecting The Fountainhead<\/em> from being savaged by puritanical busybodies \u2013 not the least of which was The Catholic Legion \u2013 from slashing out objectionable \u201cselfish\u201d and allegedly misanthropic quotes from the final shooting script.<\/p>\n

Well, I am happy to report that Atlas Shrugged, Part I<\/em> is intellectually and philosophically consistent to the novel.\u00a0 Well done, boys!<\/p>\n

But, I don\u2019t go to the movie theater to watch philosophically consistent messages.<\/em> I go to be swept away by a great plot, intelligent and adept screenwriting, intuitive performances, breathtaking cinematography, concise editing, and an impassioned soundtrack.\u00a0 The inclusion of John Aglialoro\u2019s name as Brian Patrick O\u2019Toole\u2019s co-scenarist, and the predominance of Atlas Society\u2019s David Kelley\u2019s name in the credits, spoke volumes about the (understandably) misplaced priority of making certain that this film passed ideological<\/em> muster \u2013 at the expense of the movie\u2019s aesthetic<\/em> integrity. I don’t fault Aglialoro and Kelley for standing guard over the movie’s philosophy, but would like to gently ask them, “When it comes to the movie’s artistic unity, who’s minding the store?”<\/p>\n

I have but one question for O\u2019Toole and director Paul Johansson: Do you understand which <\/em>novel you were tasked with bringing to the silver screen?\u00a0 I honestly don\u2019t think they did. I am not an Objectivist nitpicker with a laundry list of must-have<\/em> scenes and lines. To me, Atlas Shrugged <\/em>is not<\/em> my Holy Bible. But, I would assume that any filmmaker worth his salt would regard the responsibility of making the movie version as akin to the Holy Grail<\/em>. To treat its presentation and execution as a quest \u2013 not a slap-dash run to the finish line.<\/p>\n

For months now, the movie\u2019s cheerleaders have been hyping this production with the strangely-admitted caveat that even if the movie isn\u2019t hot stuff, that at least it will improve sales of the book<\/em> version. I am not being flippant, but Ayn Rand \u2013 who worked for Cecil B. DeMille and Howard Hughes\u2019s RKO Pictures, and wrote for Hal Wallis at Paramount \u2013 would probably advise those selfsame cheerleaders, \u201cCheck your premises.\u201d Movies were a religion<\/em> for Rand, and while she had her limitations as a screenwriter, she fully understood that the unique art of the cinema was meant to be larger than life.<\/em><\/p>\n

I liked Atlas Shrugged, Part I. <\/em>I also like \u201cThe Flintstones,\u201d vanilla ice cream, and playing a round of checkers. But, I love<\/em> great works of art, such as Bernini\u2019s David<\/em>, Arturo Toscanini\u2019s 1936 recording of Beethoven\u2019s Seventh Symphony, and Francis Ford Coppola\u2019s The Godfather <\/em>(Parts I and II). Nobody ever went to a performance of Shakespeare\u2019s Romeo and Juliet <\/em>expecting an interpretation of the star-crossed lovers\u2019 like<\/em> affair.<\/p>\n

I like The Godfather, Part III. <\/em>Strangely, this film \u2013 which first saw its chances of being made for the big screen when Godfather<\/em> producer Albert S. Ruddy proposed putting Rand\u2019s magnum opus<\/em> on celluloid \u2013 has come full-circle. It reminds me eerily of Coppola\u2019s ill-fated performance in The Godfather, Part III. <\/em>That\u2019s not Francis Ford Coppola, but his daughter, Sofia<\/em> Coppola. And that\u2019s Sofia Coppola the actress<\/em> in way over her head, not the somewhat competent director.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t blame the actors for Atlas Shrugged<\/em>\u2019s flaws: Most cast members do an excellent job. Taylor Schilling, as heroine Dagny Taggart, the tough executive out to save her grandfather\u2019s railroad, is perfectly physically cast \u2013 her appearance recalls Eva Marie Saint during the 1950s. Her performance is competent, and at times, moving. (There are moments where she seems to be searching for a bit of dialogue \u2013 then finding it \u2013 but I blame Johansson for that stumbling).<\/p>\n

Grant Bowler as steel magnate Hank Rearden does a superb job. He really groks the part, and grounds the movie with his incisive performance. He\u2019s solid and masculine enough to carry the movie on his shoulders (no pun intended), and only relies on nuance sparingly and always apropos. Michael Lerner and Jon Polito bring decades of charater acting chops to the movie\u2019s villain roles, duplicitous lobbyist Wesley Mouch and crony capitalist Orren Boyle, respectively. There were moments I was inwardly cheering on Graham Beckel\u2019s fiery performance as oil baron Ellis Wyatt.<\/p>\n

Where this movie suffers is primarily in its heavy-handed and lackluster script. It reads more like a serialization of a Reader\u2019s Digest condensed book translated into some obscure tongue, and then back into English.\u00a0 I had seen an interview with screenwriter O\u2019Toole a couple months ago and he did a marvelous job describing the process of adapting a novel to the screenplay format. He fully understands the importance of condensing and editing.<\/p>\n

The problem is that O\u2019Toole condensed the novel to such a point as to render the final product confining and claustrophobic. What seems to totally elude him is that a movie\u2019s pace is not a checklist of shots and scenes to breeze through. Alfred Hitchcock understood that a movie\u2019s suspense<\/em> required not only a breakneck chase scene, but prolonged, fingernail-biting moments of waiting and inactivity. Like a symphony, a movie must have equal portions of tension and<\/em> release.<\/p>\n

Without this dynamic, a film becomes monotonous. I have often thought that Atlas Shrugged<\/em> should have been filmed in the late 1950s or early 1960s by Otto Preminger, when he was at the peak of his power of making sprawling epics that immortalized their source material, whether Leon Uris\u2019s Exodus <\/em>or Allen Drury\u2019s Advise and Consent. <\/em>Preminger had the discipline and vision to do full justice to these modern literary classics.<\/p>\n

The answer to the generic feel of Atlas Shrugged, Part I<\/em> lies not in the question \u201cWho Is John Galt?\u201d but rather in asking, \u201cWho Is Paul Johansson?\u201d\u00a0 Based upon this movie, the answer is: An artistic non-entity, rather much like Rand\u2019s architectural second-rater Peter Keating. Most critics have lambasted the \u201cmade for television\u201d aesthetic quality of this movie. That is an insult to many of my favorite television programs and miniseries, such as \u201cThe Twilight Zone,\u201d \u201cThe A-Team,\u201d and \u201cShogun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why is it, that in the 21st<\/sup> century we can have stupendous miniseries with big-screen production values, like Band of Brothers<\/em> and John Adams<\/em>, but this movie feels more like a straight-to-video feature? The question answers itself.<\/p>\n

From the overuse of subtitles to denote the movie\u2019s locations \u2013 we are told that Hank and Dagny would find Ivy Starnes in Durrance, Louisiana, so why was it necessary for a title that says \u201cDURRANCE, LOUISIANA\u201d? \u2013 to the breezy pace of the movie\u2019s plot revelations, Atlas Shrugged<\/em>\u2019s makers seemed to believe that imparting the gravitas<\/em> of the book was beside the point.<\/p>\n

Atlas Shrugged <\/em>has a great mystery story. The finding of Galt\u2019s motor was a mystery<\/em> but in the movie, Rearden seems to find it on an old Filofax or Lexus\/Nexus search. The identity <\/em>of John Galt was a mystery. <\/em>People ask, as a throwaway line, \u201cWho Is John Galt?\u201d in the book, admitting their weary helplessness in the face of everyday malaise; in the movie, a shadowy, hulking guy in a fedora, stalks industrialists, and key characters place more weight on the question than the anchor holding the U.S.S. Nimitz to the sea floor.<\/p>\n

The character of Eddie Willers, who is the key to finding out Galt\u2019s identity, is rendered superfluous in the movie \u2013 the movie\u2019s ending narration at the end of part one<\/em> reveals a spoiler not meant to be divulged until way later as to Galt\u2019s identity and mission. Edi Gathegi\u2019s role is basically reduced to being Dagny\u2019s receptionist, relaying phone calls and introducing visitors to her office. Note to the movie\u2019s producers: If you\u2019re going to make Eddie Willers black, don\u2019t be so obvious by making him into a male version of Nichelle Nichols\u2019 character Lt. Uhura in \u201cStar Trek.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atlas Shrugged, Part I, <\/em>comes in at 102 minutes. The standard for a Hollywood drama has long been 120 minutes \u2013 eighteen minutes difference.<\/p>\n

With eighteen additional minutes, they could have made a picture that breathed. <\/em>It wouldn\u2019t have felt as though the whole movie consisted of hopping from formal party to velvet-rope restaurant to smoke-filled bar. When, for example, Francisco d\u2019Anconia (Jsu Garcia) approached Hank Rearden to inquire where the partygoers attending Rearden\u2019s anniversary celebration would be without Rearden\u2019s munificence and charity,it would have underscored<\/em> Francisco\u2019s inquiry if a window \u2013 out of which a bleak and forboding tundra could be seen for a few seconds \u2013 had been available. Or, if Ellis Wyatt\u2019s revelry with Hank and Dagny celebrating the successful run on the John Galt Line were punctuated with him throwing his champagne glass against the wall (indicating his fatalistic sense of the future), it would have made for so much more poignancy than his mostly perfunctory exit.<\/p>\n

And, one other thing: Don\u2019t insult the intelligence of railroad buffs such as I by trying to pass off a Chicago-area Metra commuter train as a cross-country mainline passenger train. Don\u2019t show me shot after shot of freight yards without one single<\/em> hopper, boxcar, or switch engine emblazoned with the Taggart emblem. Don\u2019t have the engineer driving the diesel version of the Amtrak Acela on the maiden voyage of the John Galt Line look and dress more like the cashier of an Amtrak regional line snack bar.<\/p>\n

These, and so many other, lost opportunities make for the demarcation line between an acceptable movie and a classic. With more soul-searching and forethought, this movie could<\/em> have been a classic.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got two more rounds, gentlemen. Fire<\/em> Johansson and O\u2019Toole, and get some people who know <\/em>movies<\/em> to pen and shoot the next two installments. For God\u2019s sake, act<\/em> as if you care<\/em> you\u2019re filming an epic.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back to the Old Drawing Board [xrr rating=3\/5] \u201cA house can have integrity, just like a person; and just as seldom\u2026.No two buildings have the same purpose. The purpose, the site, the material determine the shape. Nothing can be reasonable or beautiful unless it\u2019s made by one central idea, and the idea sets every detail. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,36,3,71,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dramas","category-epic-movies","category-mreview","category-political-dramas","category-sci-fi-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonesing4movies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonesing4movies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonesing4movies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesing4movies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesing4movies.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=566"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/jonesing4movies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":579,"href":"https:\/\/jonesing4movies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566\/revisions\/579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonesing4movies.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesing4movies.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesing4movies.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}