Looking at the world through Rose-colored glasses

It could have been an epic biopic on the life and death of Janis Joplin, but instead, it was....an epic biopic on the life and death of a fictional singer inspired by Janis Joplin. We're talking about "The Rose," of course, which CineVerse examined last evening. Among the discussion points explored:

WHAT ARE THIS FILM’S GREATEST STRENGTHS?

·       Bette Midler in the title role, who has a superb voice, energetic magnestism and believable character; it’s hard to envision anyone else playing this part

·       The strong supporting cast, including Frederic Forrest (nominated for an Oscar), Harry Dean Stanton and Barry Primus

·       The concert sequences, which are well staged, filmed and performed

·       The arc of the character’s journey from weariness to love to weariness to death

·       The film aims for realism and depicting the joys and sorrows of this tragic character in a non-glamorous, warts-and-all approach

·       Excellent cinematography by master of light Vilmos Zsigmond, who stresses darkness in the environments and at the concerts, externalizing the performer’s inner darknesses

·       It doesn’t attempt to be a complete soup to nuts “biopic”; instead of depicting Rose’s entire life, from childhood to the present, it paints an impressionistic picture with the last period of her life

WHAT ARE THIS FILM’S FLAWS?

·       It’s slightly dated in its look, dialogue, references and social milieu (definitely entrenched as a relic of the 1970s), although it’s message is timeless

·       The narrative is loosely structured, seemingly strung together awkwardly by a series of strong concert performances

·       There seems to be an over-reliance on close-ups, which can be a sign of lazy filmmaking

·       There are a lot of clichés indigenous to rock and roll and high profile artists/performers that we’ve seen in other pictures; how many times have we seen the strung-out, substance-addicted star character, whose story always ends tragically?

OTHER FILMS THAT “THE ROSE” BRINGS TO MIND:

·       A Star is Born

·       Tender Mercies

·       Almost Famous

·       Funny Girl