Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar Hoover biopic J. Edgar is out on DVD today, following a fall theatrical run notable mostly for its lack of awards consideration; the film, and particularly Leonardo DiCaprio’s leading role in it, had been the object of much presumptive Oscar buzz (hitting, as it does, multiple circles in the Oscar Venn diagram: slightly villainous, based on a real person, wide range of aging, secretly gay). But the film underwhelmed, for one very simple reason: we’re just getting tired of biopics.
The biographical film portrait has been a venerable institution since the early days of cinema; Georges Méliès made a Joan of Arc biopic clear back in 1900. And while there have been scores of great ones, the tropes of the form (the birth-to-death chronology, the trials and triumphs, the romantic struggles, etc.) are so firmly established that the only biographical films that really make an impression any more, it seems, are those that buck the trends and experiment, or at least futz with the form a bit. After the jump, we’ll take a look at ten great biopics that made an impression, and float some theories as to why.
Few figures in American culture have tinkered with our perception of identity more frequently (or fascinatingly) than Bob Dylan, so when the great Todd Haynes (Safe, Far From Heaven) took a crack at bringing Dylan’s life to the screen, he did so in the only way that made sense: by casting six different actors as Dylan — none of them actually playing the man. Instead, they took on different aspects of his persona, the characters he played in public life or on his records (rock star, cowboy, poet, troubadour, preacher, actor), which Haynes intermingled with appropriately varying film and narrative styles. The results were a bit befuddling to those unfamiliar with Zimmy, but for fans, it was an entirely appropriate way to approach a living enigma.
Comments (8)
What about La Vie En Rose (Edith Piaf) and Control(Ian Curtis). Two of the best biopics made in the past few years. In fact two of the best films made in the past few years.
Ray?
I second the vote for La Vie en Rose and I’ll add Chaplin (for the film itself and the superb performance of Robert Downey Jr. in the title role).
A few other greats: The Pianist, The Aviator, Hotel Rwanda, Pollock, A Beautiful Mind, Finding Neverland
Some great painter-biopics: Pollock (Harris), Basquiat (Schnabel), Caravaggio (Jarman), Love is the Devil (Maybury), Klimt (Ruiz)
Does ‘Blow’ qualify as a George Jung biopic? Or what about ‘Ed Wood’, ‘Donnie Brasco’ and ‘Libertine’? Easily some of the best movies Depp has done before becoming a scallywag were based on real-life characters.
I was very glad to see Coal Miner’s Daughter at the end of this list, and though I haven’t seen the Johnny Cash movie I’m inclined to think I might like it. I liked this final line in this list: “Both films end up passing a litmus test that most biopics fail: we’d be interested in these relationships even if they didn’t involve famous people.” This is the main problem I have with the genre – it’s assumed that anyone going to see it is fascinated with the subject, and so it doesn’t matter how sentimental, romanticized, or stupid the movie is. Another problem is they are usually afraid to show the truth. (Raging Bull is an exception, and beautiful in a pointless, bombastic way.) Ron Howard’s whitewash of A Beautiful Mind? Appalling, and insulting in so many ways… (The MAN was GAY!) And what, didn’t everybody love Milk? I didn’t. Why does what’s-his-name play Harvey Milk with that stupid smile in almost every scene? Because he only had news footage and based his performance on Milk’s public persona. Yes it’s a nice story, but do I want to watch that stupid smile for 2 hours of sentimental claptrap? Now surely painter biopics take the cake, including Pollock and Basquiat which were total bullshit. Seriously, watch them again, and this time pretend they’re just movies about anyone. Do you really care about the story or characters? They’re half assed myth making. Ray was corny beyond belief. Ed Wood was condescending and cartoony. (Although I kinda liked Martin Landau as Lugosi, frankly, I’d rather watch Orgy of the Dead or Glen or Glenda.) I did enjoy Finding Neverland, because it was a delightful performance and a marvelous story in itself! (See, I’m not totally one-sided about this.) I was surprised not to see 24 Hour Party People on th=is list – talk about meta-biopics! Ok, I’ll stop. Generally speaking, I avoid biopics and so I can’t speak for many of them …
Um, Bright Star anyone?
- The Lion in Winter (King Henry II and Elanor of Aquitaine)
- Bonnie and Clyde
- GoodFellas (Henry Hill)
- The Runaways
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