Blog Directory CineVerse: Looking at the world through Rose-colored glasses

Looking at the world through Rose-colored glasses

Thursday, February 28, 2013

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

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