Sunday, January 26, 2014

Jayne Mansfield's Car

Jayne Mansfield's Car - Dir. Billy Bob Thornton (2013)


Billy Bob Thornton won a wealth of awards and critical acclaim for his directorial debut Sling Blade. His follow-up was an ambitious adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel All the Pretty Horses. Thornton butted heads frequently with then-Miramax head Harvey Weinstein over the final cut, which was heavily truncated. After that, his last directorial effort was the low-budget dramedy Daddy and Them while the last screenplay he penned with writing partner Tom Epperson was 2000's The Gift. Now, Thornton has returned to the director's chair for Jayne Mansfield's Car, a generational drama set in 1969 that has very little to do with the titular actress's infamous death.

Robert Duvall is Jim Caldwell, a crotchety patriarch living in a small Alabama town with his three sons Jimbo (Robert Patrick), Skip (Thornton), and Carroll (Kevin Bacon). Caldwell is a WWI veteran with an obsession for car accidents. He monitors the police frequency and surveys accident scenes like a tourist at Disneyland. His sons also served in the military during WWII. Jimbo is the closest in personality to his father, but was never deployed overseas, a source of much contention. Skip was a Navy pilot, who sports physical and psychological scars after surviving a hospital fire. Carroll has become a long-haired hippie protesting the conflict in Vietnam after witnessing the horrors of war as an Army medic.

Jim receives word that his ex-wife Naomi (Tippi Hedren whose scenes were deleted) has passed away due to cancer. Naomi left him some time ago and moved to England where she eventually married Kingsley Bedford (John Hurt). Now, Kingsley is coming to the States for the funeral long with his adult children Phillip (Ray Stevenson) and Camilla (Frances O'Connor). The two disparate clans bond in unexpected ways. Jim and Kingsley swap old war stories about their military service and their marriages. At one point, they visit a nearby fair where Mansfield's car is on exhibit. Skip finds himself smitten with Camilla while Phillip fends off the amorous affections of Jim's daughter Donna (Katherine LaNasa), who is married to an obnoxious car salesman (Ron White).

Jayne Mansfield's Car unfolds like a low-key Tennessee Williams play. It moves at a comfortable pace as if it were leaning back in a rocking chair with a fan in one hand and a mint julep in the other. The film primarily deals with the effects of war and the somber realization that the mistakes of one generation continue on to their children and their children's children.

Thornton has gathered together a powerhouse cast to bring the story to life. Duvall is pitch perfect as a good old southern boy who keeps his emotions close to the vest. He shares some welcome screen time with another vet in John Hurt. It's also a treat to see Ray Stevenson in a strong role that doesn't require him to kill a bunch of people. Thornton has one of the film's most solemn moments when he recounts the events that led to the burn marks across his body. He also participates in the most bizarre scene in which he masturbates while Camilla recites The Charge of the Light Brigade in the nude. This is the only over-the-top sequence as the movie generally finds the right balance between heavy drama and light comedy.

Ultimately, the script is too scattershot to emphatically succeed. There's not a strong enough narrative through line and the dialogue is painfully on the nose. Simmering tensions boil over during a stormy night, but things get smoothed over a little too easily by the time the credits roll.

Jayne Mansfield's Car is a noble attempt at an epic drama that misses the mark on several occasions. The array of talented actors, at least, makes it worth a rental.

Rating: ** (*****)

No comments: