The Rough South of Larry Brown

Review: The Rough South of Larry Brown

Gary Hawkins once again takes on the difficult documentary subject of the writer, the private, solitary artist, with his portrait of Mississippi author Larry Brown and his stories. On the surface Brown proves to be a more subdued subject than that of Hawkins' award-winning The Rough South of Harry Crews; Crews is larger-than-life, loud, opinionated, seemingly born for the camera. But Brown is a better writer, and Hawkins weaves his film with nuanced glimpses of the artist, his family, and short films of Brown's Carveresque stories. What separates Larry Brown from the commodity that is Southern Literature is that Brown's stories are about people, their lives, slow-turnings, and glimpses of revelation; they happen to be set in Mississippi, because that happens to be where Larry Brown, save for a stint in the Marines, has lived his life. In interviews in the film, Brown, in his rich drawl and tobacco-cured voice, reveals that he set high standards for his stories, listing a diverse and top-shelf range of influences. Perhaps most revealing about the man's life are conversations with Brown's wife, Annie, a strong woman who has had to struggle to understand the drive and determination, the solitude, of her husband. Hawkins, in a subtle choice, edits the interviews of Annie and Brown so as to hint at jealousy, infidelity, anger, and disappointment, never bowing to the media culture of scandal. The effect is a disarming, honest portrait of marriage and the writing life.

Hawkins' choice of Brown's stories to film is deft, and his technique even more so. His use of black-and-white still-photographs to tell a story of rural bar-culture infidelity creates a lingering dread. Samaritans is shot in a straight-forward fashion, getting the details so right you can taste the stale smoke and the metallic finish of cheap beer. Boy and Dog, shown from the point-of-view of its young protagonist, chillingly details a simple act with horrifying consequences. In all of the stories, Hawkins never fails to give center stage to the power of Larry Brown's words. In the end, the power of those words is matched only by the weathered face and weary eyes of Brown himself. Where Crews likes to hear himself talk, and is good at it, Hawkins gives Brown's face breadth and time on the screen, and silence, speaking volumes about his personal Rough South.

If you're a Larry Brown fan this film is a must see, and if you love the special ambiance only central Mississippi has, then you must see it. If you're not a Larry Brown fan, I don't know what to say except that you should be. His writing should appeal to anyone who loves to open a book and get lost in it.

My favorite book was FAY so I'd suggest you start there if you haven't read him. Then see this film.

I can't get Larry Brown's face and voice out of my mind. I just watched the film last night. All the heart and sorrow and soul that you find in his writing, you'll find in his face, his eyes, and his voice, and Gary Hawkins has captured it all not just once or twice but over and over in the film.

He's shown us what it was like to be Larry Brown—a beautiful tribute to a man whose voice was silenced far too soon. If I ever doubted that a writer who could put words together in such a beautiful way could also be a man for the common people—so real it hurts sometimes to watch—this film forever banished the idea from my mind.

If you're a struggling writer and want to know what it takes to make it as a writer, please don't miss this documentary. There's something here for you that's worth more than I can tell you.

I hope Gary Hawkins is working on a screenplay for a major movie based on Larry Brown's life – different from a documentary in that it can be a bit more fictionalized. I see a great opportunity for a screenwriter in this man's life. I'd see the movie and I'd even buy it.

The "Rough South of Larry Brown" by Gary Hawkins goes beyond the documentary genre. Gary does a superb job of letting Larry and his wife tell their story. You see what a struggle it was for Larry to start down the path as a writer. You see what a struggle it was for his wife as he pursued his path. You get to see the good with the bad . but that's life and that's what Larry Brown writes about. So if seeing Larry's life story isn't enough, Gary also brings three of Larry's stories to the screen. He does it in such a way that you feel the Mississippi heat, the character's conflict with their right and wrong choices, and how life just keeps on going. So you not only get a feel for Larry's struggles as a writer, but also get to see what he's done during that struggle. This movie does what all movies should . it makes you want to go find out more about the subject. It inspired me to read the book "Big Bad Love", hopefully it will do the same for you.

Gary Hawkins' complex achievement shows that he, himself, is truly a gifted writer and revealer of American southern literature, while developing the fascinating and appealing struggles of living and working in Mississippi as an artist.

We are instantly drawn into the gritty, dark, and unashamed world of Larry Brown through his side projects, his humble beginnings, and most importantly, his wife. While it could have been easy to delve into a cliche and trite exposition of any artist's work, Brown's fiction requires depth of emotion and thought. Just as the viewer (not a reader of Brown) might begin to wonder what is so special about this writer, Hawkins presents his own visual renditions of several of Brown's stories, capturing the empathy and curiosity of most anyone.

Further, the way in which Hawkins weaves these pieces of fiction into the life and stories of Larry Brown is little short of masterful storytelling. Brown's past comes to life through his confessions, his doubts, and the unabashed admissions of his wife. One cannot help but wonder what relationship the director, Hawkins, developed with his subjects throughout the lengthy filmmaking process and what relationship possibly survives still.

Some of the film's overall strengths also lie in the soundtrack by Vic Chesnutt and the grittiness conveyed through "Samaritans" and "Wild Thing." To see this film is to feel as if you've spent an hour or two with Brown on his back porch, sipping some of whatever he has in his own glass.

I am a huge Gary Hawkins fan--the work is beautiful, energized, intense, and wholly original. I use this film (THE ROUGH SOUTH OF LARRY BROWN) in my narrative technique classes and students come to Larry Brown's work, but fiction-writing in general, with passion and openness after seeing the film. Hawkins tells many stories within the main story--bringing the writer and his work to life in ways that are simply stunning, unforgettable. I can't imagine not having this film! My students' favorite sections are those where all the magazine titles of all the places that rejected the stories are shown, in Brown's hand. Highly recommend.