Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith and Bruce Willis in the Brian De Palma movie ‘The Bonfire of the Vanities’

A gritty story flush with racial and class sensibilities amidst conflicting power struggles seemed like a natural fit for a Brian De Palma directed film. The hard hitting black comedy satire that was the 1987 Tom Wolfe book The Bonfire of the Vanities became the poorly adapted, poorly cast movie The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), losing over $31 million.

(From left, Melanie Griffith as Maria Ruskin with Tom Hanks as Sherman McCoy, and Kim Cattrall as Judy McCoy with Tom Hanks as Sherman McCoy, in the Brian De Palma movie The Bonfire of the Vanities).

Tom Hanks starred as Sherman McCoy, a Wall Street bond trader who makes millions while enjoying the good life. Things move from top of the world with an ongoing affair with Southern belle gold digger Maria Ruskin, as portrayed by Melanie Griffith, get into trouble in the South Bronx wherein a hit-and-run accident leaves an African American youth severely injured. McCoy’s life begins to unravel with multiple angles in play about how to respond.

(From left, Rita Wilson as a Public Relations ambassador and Bruce Willis as Peter Fallow in the Brian De Palma movie The Bonfire of the Vanities).

The movie version of The Bonfire of the Vanities stars Bruce Willis as the newspaper reporter Peter Fallow feels like an observer parody of Nick Carraway from F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s The Great Gatsby. Fallow breaks much of the public’s interest in the appearance of impropriety against Sherman McCoy, who is due to lose his wife and daughter, his profession, and ultimately his freedom. Kim Cattrall portrayed Sherman’s wife, Judy McCoy, with Kirsten Dunst portraying their daughter, Campbell McCoy.

(John Hancock as Reverend Bacon in the Brian De Palma movie The Bonfire of the Vanities).

Episcopal minister Reverend Bacon, as portrayed by John Hancock, is portrayed as one of many corrupted community leaders in the film and book. The court of public opinion with an underlying profit angle is placed aside the political ambition of a district attorney, pursuit of sexual favors from the assistant district attorney, and all antagonists in the storyline having an illegitimate motivation that values perceptions of truth over actual truth; this sense of satire as motivation includes Judge Leonard White, as portrayed by Morgan Freeman, prosecuting attorney Jed Kramer, as portrayed by Saul Rubinek, defense attorney Tom Killian, as portrayed by Kevin Dunn, District Attorney Abe Weiss, as portrayed by F. Murray Abraham, and others still.

(Saul Rubinek as prosecuting attorney Jed Kramer, Tom Hanks as Sherman McCoy, Kevin Dunn as defense attorney Tom Killian and Morgan Freeman as Judge Leonard White in the Brian De Palma movie The Bonfire of the Vanities).

Those having read the underlying Thomas Wolfe book will be decidedly disappointed by the movie, with casting and the Michael Cristofer screenplay contributing to this feel. The dissecting of motivation that so powerfully comes through with the book, and so strongly gets stated in first person testimonies in many circumstances, simply never shows up in the movie. Quite simply, that is a real shame for those aiming to understand the commentary that Wolfe‘s work really makes.

(From left, actor Bruce Willis, director Brian De Palma, and actor Tom Hanks in the Brian De Palma movie The Bonfire of the Vanities).

The Bonfire of the Vanities, in premise and subject matter, remains relevant. The hard hitting notions of the underlying conflicts, the efforts to get just outcomes without the taint of corruption, and the depth of the look within the movie resembles the book while taking too many departures, simplifications, and lost along the way qualities. Watching this movie simply does not do the story justice, which leads to my giving The Bonfire of the Vanities as directed by Brian De Palma 3.0-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, August 14, 2021

Christian Bale, John Malkovich and the Steven Spielberg film ‘Empire of the Sun’

British, American and other expatriates were in Shanghai, China during the time surrounding the Japanese occupation of the city during the Second Sino-Japanese War. That war lasted longer and occurred at the same time that many in the west understand as World War Two, though the film Empire of the Sun (1987) looks at the period that can be roughly understood as 1941 to 1945.

(Christian Bale as Jamie ‘Jim’ Graham and Takatarô Kataoka as Kamikaze Boy Pilot in the film Empire of the Sun).

The film Empire of the Sun tells the story of spoiled British child Jamie Graham, played by Christian Bale, who starts the film living with his parents in diplomat accommodations in Shanghai prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Jamie has lived an exceptionally privileged life with Chinese servants serving his every wish, having grown up in diplomatic circles in China with an apparent understanding of communicating in both English, the form of Chinese spoken in Shanghai, and Japanese.

(Left to Right, Emily Richard as Mary Graham, Rupert Frazer as John Graham and Christian Bale as Jamie ‘Jim’ Graham in the film Empire of the Sun).

In the chaos following Japan occupying Shanghai and the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jamie is separated from his parents as the occupation begins. Following some desperate actions in the aftermath of that chaos, Jamie becomes entangled in the occupation with American expatriates Frank Demarest and Basie, as portrayed by John Malkovich and Joe Pantoliano.

(John Malkovich as Basie, left, and Joe Pantoliano as Frank Demarest in the film Empire of the Sun).

In creating a trade network within the camp where the prisoners exist, and in coming of age in a fashion that instills hope among the adult prisoners where all are held, Jamie takes the abbreviated name Jim from Basie and Frank. Hope comes in the form of the successes in acquiring street smarts, flat out bravery in pushing boundaries with his captors for his own good as well as the benefit of the prisoners, and the support Jim acquires through the course of the movie’s telling.

(Nigel Havers as Dr. Rawlins, left, and Christian Bale as Jamie ‘Jim’ Graham in the film Empire of the Sun).

While in the camp, Jim also forms a sort of father and son relationship with camp physician and British expatriate Dr. Rawlins, as portrayed by Nigel Havers. The bond formed by the two is palpable and convincing, offering a sweet glimpse into the emotionally possible within the context of the utterly miserable conditions of captivity. It is in part that Jim can maintain an optimism and growth in the face of a military occupation that hope is as strong a message for Empire of the Sun as is captivity.

(Christian Bale and Empire of the Sun director Steven Spielberg on set of the film Empire of the Sun).

The film Empire of the Sun is based on J.G. Ballard‘s autobiographical novel, also named Empire of the Sun. The film ends during the 1945 liberation of the prison camp, with glimpses of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki catching Jim’s attention. The heavy truths are shared in typically tasteful Steven Spielberg fashion, and the story eventually resolves in emotionally compelling fashions on that larger stage as well as on the personal stage of the relationships forged through the film. Empire of the Sun, rather to my unexpected pleasure, works on an emotional level in the storytelling that allows me to give the film 4.00-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, January 8, 2020