Review: Pollock (2000)
Jerry Saravia
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
May 25th, 2001
The most innovative of the Abstract Expressionists was Jackson Pollock whose
surrealist paintings gave way to "action paintings," the idea that paint
could be dripped onto the canvas and create vivid splashes of color. Pollock
created the drip technique and thus, a sense of freedom within the canvas was
born where space became largely ambiguous. Pollock is world reknown, so much
that American film directors like Martin Scorsese or Oliver Stone are often
referred to as the "Jackson Pollocks of cinema" for their often seemingly
free form styles. Such an innovator is given a fairly conventional though
often harrowing treatment by Ed Harris in his directorial debut.
Naturally, Ed Harris plays the tortured, neurotic, manic-depressive Jackson
Pollock. The film begins in New York City in the postwar era of the 1940's
where Pollock is still an unknown. He meets with another painter, Lee Krasner
(Marcia Gay Harden), who hears of Pollock through word-of-mouth and becomes
interested in his work. After all, if you are a painter in New York who is
talked about in circles, you must make your appearance through the proper
channels. Lee Krasner knows the proper channels. She is acquainted with Peggy
Guggenheim (Judith Ivey), the owner of the Art of This Century Gallery, who
is ticked off when climbing five flight of stairs to find Pollock is not
home. Nevertheless, she sees his work and commissions it to be show in her
gallery.
Pollock also finds a willing romantic partner in Lee Krasner who knows of the
man's faults and still decides to be with him. Pollock is an alcoholic and
usually finds himself sleeping outside tenements. His solution is to get away
from the city, and so Krasner offers him an option - get married and move or
she walks. They move to the Hamptons near the beach for tranquility. This is
also beneficial for Pollock who can find himself locked in his work rather
than in alcohol. As time goes on, Pollock eventually discovers his drip
technique and becomes a sensation in New York and around the world. And when
does Pollock know that his work is finished? "How do you know you are
finished when you are making love," asks Pollock when interviewed by Life
magazine.
"Pollock" occasionally finds the painter at work in his studio but the film's
screenplay devotes more time to his turbulent relationship with Lee Krasner.
Lee puts up with Pollock through his affairs and endless drinking bouts
because she wants him to be the great painter that he is. It is clear that
Lee is devoted to him and tries to help him, thus putting her own career on
hold for his sake. They frequently have their arguments, some more harsh than
others, but they still manage to stay together for several years.
By the 1950's, Pollock grows into a bearded, fat, obnoxious, unlikable man.
He retreats from his "drip" style to his original abstract paintings. He also
has an affair with a luscious art groupie (Jennifer Connelly) and largely
detaches himself from Lee. The brief romance is mostly dull as compared to
his emotional bond with Lee, and the film meanders a bit whenever Connelly
shows up, whom I do admire as an actress overall.
My complaints of the film are largely relegated to the depiction of Pollock's
own status in the art world. The recent "Before Night Falls" did not dwell on
why the famous writer, Reinaldo Arenas, became a writer, it only showed his
surroundings and how they affected him. But Pollock is a more complex,
larger-than-life character. He seems to lack communication with his mother
(Sada Thompson - the matriarch from the 70's TV show "Family") or his brother
and his family - they attend his gallery shows but they never speak to each
other, particularly at the dining table. Pollock's family life is given so
little shred of introspection that we never understand why they ever visit
him in the first place - consider that almost every scene with his family
ends in a violent disruption. Does Pollock's temperamental personality and
his seclusion in his work cause his family to be silent or are they unhappy
with his artistic life? Whatever lack of communication exists may hint at
Pollock's own troubled nature but the film never makes that connection.
The two fantastic lead performances rescue whatever character limitations
exist. Ed Harris is powerful and harrowing as the troubled Pollock - he even
looks like the painter judging by recent photographs I have looked at. Marcia
Gay Harden is the strong, sympathetic, tough and direct Lee Krasner (she
deservedly won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her work here). They
have several great scenes together but my favorite is when he asks her if
"they can make a baby." She says no, claiming that fulfilling his needs is
enough and all she ever wanted. It is indeed.
If "Pollock" had dwelled on the artist's personal, familial side and if the
fleeting world of Abstract Expressionists had been developed, the film might
have been a stunning masterpiece. As it is, it is a hellish, demanding work
with two ball-of-fire performances that will rattle your nerves, shake up
your senses, and largely disorient you. Just like Jackson Pollock did.
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