Carried Away

One of the worst movies I have ever seen. If it had a few musical numbers, it would beat out Ishtar for worst movie of all time. Ed Wood is smiling somewhere.

This film is NOT a convincing character study, the premise that a 49 year old with arrested development issues is going to have a revitalizing affair with the local sex kitten (who initiates it!!) seems more implausible than the plots of most action films. At least the action films supply devices which we can use to suspend our disbelief. A 17-year old with a penchant for handicapped men still living with their mothers is beyond my ken.

At least I got a laugh out of this movie, Amy Locane's immolation of the horse (a ruse to get Hopper to act as a hero and save it, but his gimpy leg precludes such a possibility) is forever etched in my mind.

Yesterday, I heard about the death of Dennis Hopper. I remembered buying a VHS copy of this film quite some time ago, but never watched it. Hearing it was one of his better roles, I thought it would be a suitable tribute to the man.

"Carried Away" is the sort of film loved above all others by a certain type of audience. There's guilt, tragedy, alienation, and most of all - sex. "Carried Away" is the sort of film that always feels like winter, even if made in the middle of summer. It probably takes place in the 1970s, though that's never specified. This is not normally the sort of film I like. But there's a number reasons why it is so good. Mainly, the actors. Dennis Hopper is every bit as impressive as he's ever been, playing a character of painful reality and depth. Hal Holbrook, Julie Harris, and Gary Busey are all quite welcome as well. Amy Locane is interesting, playing on a complex level of childishness and convincing sexuality.

I got a lot of "Carried Away", because it has a lot put into it. The humanity is a basic thing, the details of ordinary actions, the observation of a slow day. In the end, the film is a little too hard and cold for its own good. It wants to make you feel cold in the summer, but that's just an illusion. Like black & white in colour. This could have been a bright, vivid film to even greater effect. But that's just a minor complaint.

Very well acted by Amy Irving, allowing herself to look drab, and older, and especially Dennis Hopper, who gives what might be his most restrained performance ever, and creates an unforgettable character in the process.

This tale of a mid-western, self confessed 'mediocre farmer and schoolteacher' having an erotic affair with a 17 year old student, and the effect it has on his life, especially his long standing, but now somewhat inert relationship with his fellow teacher, is really about taking risks in life, even bad ones, and how we need those to stay alive.

I like and admire that the film neither fully condemns or approves of anyone or any action. Everything is complex.

Sadly, Amy Locaine as the girl, while stunningly beautiful, isn't at the acting level of her older co-stars, nor his her character written with the same kind of insight and precision, which hurts the overall effect. And some of the writing is a little overly poetic and theatrical.

Still, it's an unique film, dealing with sex, aging, morality, fear and self-image in a far more complex, mature way than most American films, and for once treats mid-western farm folks as just as complex, intelligent and tortured as their big-city counterparts.

I'm a big fan of Dennis Hopper - and this is one of his best works. I'm not sure if he came to the script or if this was just the perfect vehicle for his ability to play complexity - but such doesn't really matter.

Busey was excellent when he's usually too much. Hal Holbrook was solid.

The story was one that middle-aged men are frequently (more often than we may expect) confronted with. This was the most unsensational, honest, and thoughtful presentation of the conflict I've ever watched. Great flick for the thoughtful.

There was a very sexual content - but never was it gratuitous. Every scene had a purpose. It was a rare film in that if you wanted to be entertained, it did that. If you wanted to provoke thought, it did that, too. How involved do you want to be?

If you enjoy movies that leave you taking more than one position, and arguing with yourself about what is "right" this is the kind of flick you'd enjoy.

It's been interesting to watch Dennis Hopper grow up in films, from the skinny, scared kid in "The Sons of Katie Elder", to his iconic role as Billy in "Easy Rider", to the whacked-out journalist in "Apocalypse Now", to this thoroughly middle-aged character. Here, he is the ultimate grown-up, at least at first, who feels the need to go back to years past in the idea of love/sex with the young student. He nailed his part. Amy Irving nailed hers, too, though it was a bit of a smaller part. Amy Locane provided the eye candy, for us as well as for Joseph Svenden (Hopper). Harder to understand her character's (Catherine) motivations. I can see that the pickings were pretty slim in that time and place, but the 47-year-old semi-crippled more-or-less engaged teacher? This film is worth seeing, if you can take some fairly unsettling images (Hopper naked). Grade: B