Cheap Cradle Will Rock (DVD) (Tim Robbins) Price

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Overly ambitious film by a man with a mission
Poor Tim Robbins. An anachronism born 50 years too late, he endures as a passionate liberal crusader in an age of capitalistic dominance. 'The Cradle Will Rock', written and directed by Robbins, is a pining for the glory days of the socialist and labor movements in the United States. It is a nostalgic piece with leftist sensitivities, written by one who wishes he had been there.

This is a well assembled but bloated ensemble piece, based on fact, that centers on the federal theater program of the mid 1930's. This program was an outgrowth of the WPA from the depression years that gave federal funding to the arts to give employment to out of work actors, with the thinking that good theater would be good to boost the moral of the masses. Unfortunately, Robbins was overly ambitious in this collage, attempting to weave together no less than four virtually unrelated stories. The result is a whirlwind of disjointed jump cuts that distracts the viewer from the only engaging storyline, namely the production of Marc Blitzstein's play. The disparate barrage of stories, assembled carefully to wax nostalgic about the leftist movement, had little appeal to anyone but those with a predilection to such waxing. For everyone else, it just diluted the effectiveness of the main storyline, which is a pity because it was a good human interest story.

That story shows a young Orson Welles directing a new play sympathetic to the labor movement. The play and the federal theater program come under scrutiny of the U.S. Government. The play is closed down on opening night and federal troops sent to barricade the doors of the theater, because the play is believed to have a communist message.

In a defiant act, Welles finds another theater and herds the audience from the front door of the garrisoned theater to the new one where the play is to be performed as a one man show by the author, the only man not in the union. All the other actors are under orders not to perform lest they lose their jobs, a daunting thought in depression times. The play goes on with a dramatic and uplifting twist at the end.

The whole ensemble did a terrific job. All the actors gave wonderful performances, though they needed to find someone with a voice better than Emily Watson's for the singing role. Though I have been critical of John Turturro in the past ('Illuminata' for instance) his was a standout performance in a very talented ensemble. Ruben Blades was also terrific as the eccentric Diego Rivera.

Overall, it was a decent effort at tackling a subject that simply no longer has an audience. Robbins did a good job on the period props and sets, and the scenes brought forth frankly many of the real issues of the day (with a decidedly leftward slant). But the film dissipates itself on irrelevant scenes designed to serve as a catharsis for every perceived injustice and admiration Robbins held for the times. That jihad annuls some good performances by rendering the film a mediocre hodgepodge.

I rated the film a 6/10. It had greater potential but flubbed it. If you are a staunch conservative capitalist type, don't waste your time with this film. It will just aggravate you. If you long for the days of passionate liberal activism, you will love it, but if you are just looking for entertainment, you will probably be disappointed.

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INTERESTING PASTICHE OF CHARACTERS, BUT TRIES TOO HARD
Tim Robbins' ambitious attempt to blend the spirit of a screwball comedy with the conscience of a meaningful film with a message. A dazzling ensemble of characters who are seemingly separate from one another but all their loose ends are woven back together at the end, just like in Altman's movies.

The subject I'd say is a bit cliche (Business = bad, Unions = good) but under proper direction could have been made interesting. Yet, Robbins chooses to apply such a hamfisted hand that it's difficult to get caught up in the story, despite the blistering pace at which he tells it.

Plus, the protagonists seem shallowly defined. Either they're good, salt of the earth sort of people, or they're insecure, lonely and desperate whistle-blowers (like the character played by Bill Murray).

At roughly 2.5 hours length, some judicious editing was in order, but despite the epic scale of the production and the calibre of the actors, this film ultimately winds up being little more than a overdrawn diatribe on the state of big businesses in the US.

Recommended rental perhaps for some neat camerawork, or perhaps the last 20 minutes that were without a doubt the most clever and entertaining bit of the entire film.

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Will Rock You... Awake!
Where is class warfare now that we need it? In the 1930s, when most decent people feared a Communist in every closet, no one thought twice about the fascists and their capitalist allies despoiling the commons. Into this time stepped the

Federal Theater Project (an offshoot of the New Deal's Works Progress Administration), which provided outlet and employment for Depression-era artists. Too bad they were Socialists, too. If you don't know the history of the period, you'll miss a lot of this fascinating story. Cradle Will Rock reflects the title of an FTP production, a real musical written by the real-life playwright Marc Blitzstein (played by Hank Azaria).The anti-communist Dies Commission tried to close down the FTP because it criticized capitalism and harbored Communists. But The Cradle Will Rock opens defiantly in another venue, on June 16, 1937, when the original theatre is padlocked.

Getting to opening night is a fascinating, serpentine historical journey. Imagine this mix of personalities: Orson Welles (Angus Macfadyen) crossing creative swords with John Houseman (Cary Elwes), Nelson Rockefeller (John Cusack) trying to temper the revolutionist artist Diego Rivera (Ruben Blades) - a confrontation played somewhat better in Frida. And then there were other, lesser-known and fictional, characters, such as real-life actress Olive Stanton (Emily Watson), pining for a role; real-life Margherita Sarfatti (Susan Sarandon), passing the hat among capitalists like fictional steel magnate Gray Mathers (Philip Baker Hall) to support the fascist Mussolini; fictional actor Aldo Silvano (John Turturro), balancing his socialist theatre aspirations against his pro-fascist family; and the FTP director and advocate, Hallie Flanagan (Cherry Jones), who fights the good fight for survival against the Dies Committee and do-gooder Hazel Huffman (Joan Cusack). (Huffman is lusted after by jaded ventriloquist Tommy Crickshaw, played by Bill Murray).

It is gratifying to know we can still get a pro-union film produced in this country, even though a lot of films escape to Canada to avoid union rules and negotiated pay rates. Just to give you an example of why rights for workers are necessary, here is an excerpt from a 23 December 2002 news story:

"Last week a jury confirmed what labor activists have argued for years - Wal-Mart is a corporate criminal making its profits by illegally breaking wage and labor laws: `In the lawsuit, 400 current and former employees from 18 stores in Oregon accused the company of violating federal and state wage laws by systematically pressuring them to work unpaid overtime.' And this case is just one example, as Wal-Mart has been quietly settling other lawsuits by employees across the country. Globally, Wal-Mart's drive for low wages extends to contracting with sweatshops in developing nations that systematically violate human rights and workers rights."

Writer-director Tim Robbins has venerable liberal credentials, dating to the wicked satire Bob Roberts (1992), and he juggles all of these story lines with consummate skill. He and his excellent cast capture the excitement of putting on a show that might actually change minds, rather than just bring in spare change. There was a time in American history when some people were paying attention to what's good for American people rather than just American corporations. Cradle Will Rock is meant to rock you, not to sleep, as most entertainment does, but wide awake.