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Sunshine State
review by Elias Savada, 21 June 2002
28th Seattle International Film
Festival What might you expect from a
film eponymously set in the land of good ole Jeb Bush, those damned
dimpled chads, and a sea of transient moppets traipsing their
parents around Disney World? Well, none of the above if you manage
to catch this engrossingly extended (at 141 minutes, it passes
quickly) big screen pop quiz. The political hijinx in independent
film poster child John Sayles' thoroughly engrossing new movie don't
reflect on presidential elections or siblings, or your Uncle Walt's
niece and nephew visiting from Schenectady. Rather, small town
Florida politicians, backstabbing land developers, and handful of
just plain (but certainly not bland) folks upset with the
gentrification of their close-knit neighborhood comprise another
appealing multicharacter approach to film-making that affords
director-writer-editor-handyman Sayles' thirteenth film (as
director) an amiable stroll along one of the life's lesser known
beaches. Sunshine State is
definitely one of his most accomplished works, right alongside the
highly acclaimed Lone Star,
his sprawling indictment of a small Texas border town (which earned
Sayles an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay),
and his real-low-budget directorial debut Return
of the Secaucus Seven. Perennial themes of corruption and
uncertain hope pepper his cross-genre work, but it’s the raw
honesty of his characters that makes them so appealing. It's that
same quality which is so proudly evident in some of Robert Altman's
work, particularly -- as it fits in with Sayles' current subject --
the laid-back, underrated Southern dramedy Cookie's
Fortune.
So Sayles and his traveling
ensemble have journeyed eastward from Lone
Star to Passion Fish
(Louisiana) to the land of palm trees and gators, reassembling --
with the filmmaker's long-time producer and life-partner Maggie
Renzi -- some of his old friends (Angela Bassett, Gordon Clapp, Bill
Cobbs, Richard Edson, Clifton James, Tom Wright, Miguel Ferrer) with
some actors new to Sayles' cinematic world, among them Timothy
Hutton, Ralph Waite, Clapp's NYPD
Blue co-star James McDaniel, The
Sopranos' matriarch Edie Falco, and Mary Steenbergen.
As the film begins, a series of
seemingly unrelated scenes bombard the viewer. A pirate ship is
ablaze and a young black boy stands watching. Alan King and his
foursome (who bookend the film) provide some biting historical
context on wealthy landowners turning swamplands into golf courses,
of "selling sunshine" and nature on a leash. After a pit
stop at the local Sea-Vue Motel run by a ditsy local gal, an
attractive black woman and her anesthesiologist husband land at the
doorstep of an estranged parent. Meanwhile a local politician tries
to commit suicide.
Like a subtle fog, the confusion
slowly lifts amid the elegant camera work of Patrick Cady (Girlfight)
with leisurely pans, zooms, and other movements as the characters
bit by bit intertwine on the screen, revealing their relationships.
It's much like a child's game of connect-the-dots or a slowed-downed
version of E.R., the plot
jig sawing back and forth among the long-time stalwarts of
African-American enclave Lincoln Beach as they fight off encroaching
development plans of various business interests desirous of the
island's prime beachfront property. Nearby, Marly Temple (Falco) who
runs her family's motel with increasing disdain, gets similar
overtures from the real estate men with the big bucks and
semi-nefarious notions.
Standouts in the cast? Well, it's a
true ensemble piece, impossible to break down within the limited
scope of this review. In the end, everyone registers, even if his or
her screen time is less than that of their thespian compatriots.
Richard Edson, for one, is a ne'er-do-well ex-husband pitching
mail-order iguana scams with maybe four brief appearances (and
probably the only film he's ever been called handsome…and Greek).
Gordon Clapp, who has worked with Sayles since his debut feature, is
that befuddled unsuccessful suicidalist, one Erle Pickney, a local
commissioner on the take. His wife, Francine (Mary Steenbergen),
promotes the town's market-driven Buccaneer Days with a plastic
smile and a fistful of depression. No one really gets a lot of
screen time to steal the show, although Falco's interpretation of
Marly as short-haired, dirty-blonde, would-be adventuress has some
of the better lines and dead-pan jokes (I especially liked her
sarcastic delivery on the death of sponges). Her hauntingly vacant
eyes search out the few romantic prospects in town, moving from a
studly golf pro anxious to get over a case of stage fright, to Jack
Meadows, a landscape architect (Tim Hutton) with a carefree
indifference in the ethics of his employers.
It's Sayles' deliberate writing and
directing style that wins his film a stunning vote of confidence. An
acclaimed novelist and 1983 winner of a MacArthur "genius"
award, there's not one ounce of slouching in his smooth,
self-assured filmmaking style. He's unconsciously crafted a lovely,
small-scale revisionist rewrite of Seven Days in May, while powerfully focusing on the personal battle
lines imperiling one Florida community. One of the most original
American productions this year, you'll find yourself remembering
this refreshing visit to a Sunshine
State.
Seattle International Film Festival
Coverage:
Reviews:
Interviews:
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Written and
Directed
by:
John Sayles
Starring:
Jane Alexander
Ralph Waite
Angela Bassett
James McDaniel
Mary Alice
Bill Cobbs
Gordon Clapp
Mary Steenburgen
Timothy Hutton
Tom Wright
Marc Blucas
Alexander Lewis
McMurray
Perry Lang
Miguel Ferrer
Charlayne Woodard
Clifton James
Cullen Douglas
Alan King
Eliot Asinof
Richard Edson
Michael Greyeyes
Rated:
R- Restricted.
Under 17 requires
parent or adult
guardian.
FULL
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