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: ** (*****)
