Judge, Juror #2, and Executioner

Some stories feel as though they have been with us since the dawning of time. They deal with universal themes of love, coming of age, revenge and friendship. A film that feels like a modern retelling of a long since forgotten tale is the 2012 drama Mud. Clearly based upon Mark Twain’s yarns that feature Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, the plot follows modern day youths Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) as they come of age on the Arkansas River (a tributary of the Mississippi).

Certain novels, and their respective films, capture the beautiful yet complicated nature of the American south. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and To Kill a Mockingbird are two such examples. A third book that has been transformed into a motion picture that illustrates this intriguing subject is Jon Avnet’s 1991 movie Fried Green Tomatoes.

As viewers, we act as voyeurs, observing the intricacies of the character’s lives – their actions, interactions, relationships, affairs and countless other physical or mental manoeuvres. Films can act as therapy and relief, or can cause self-reflection, disgust or numerous other emotions depending on how we react to what we are scrutinizing on the screen. It may resemble something we have done in our own lives or could illustrate a seedy side of life that we have never even contemplated. A number of directors have cleverly infused their stories around the concept of voyeurism, adding a deeper level to our viewership, to great effect. The first filmmaker to come to mind is Alfred Hitchcock, who masterfully concocted Rear Window and Psycho around these themes, though there are countless other examples: Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom, Peter Weir’s The Truman Show and Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut are merely three more that fall within this category. A European motion picture that once again delves into this intriguing topic is Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s 2006 movie The Lives of Others.

There is nothing like a memorable entrance/introduction to an onscreen character. The film that I am reviewing today has three. As the camera pans up at the very beginning of the movie, we are nearly hit by voice over narrator Johnny Farrell’s (Glenn Ford) trick dice. As he leaves the sketchy gambling room (after easily winning some cash with his fake cubes), he is held at gunpoint by a robber. In comes his saviour and soon to be boss, Ballin Mundson (George Macready), who uses his ‘best friend’, a walking stick that hides a dangerously long and sharp bayonet to save the nervous man. But it is the third and final entrance that blows the other two away. After Farrell begins to work for Mundson for some time, he learns, upon his bosses return from a trip, that he has gotten married. As the two enter the dame’s bedroom, her husband asks, "Gilda, are you decent?". Rita Hayworth’s title character, after a slight pause, pops up on the screen, and with a sensual flip of her perfect locks, flirtatiously responds "Me?". Dare I say, drama ensues.

Controversial, edgy, tasteless and taboo are just a few words that have been used to describe the movie that I will be reviewing today. If there was ever a love it or loathe it film – this may be it. It has been chosen by the acclaimed company Criterion as being one of their ‘important classic and contemporary films’ and many film afficionados have lauded it, yet others have absolutely trashed it – with legend Roger Ebert proclaiming that it is "as nasty as it is lubricious, a despicable attempt to titillate us by exploiting memories of persecution and suffering". I will leave it to you to decide.