Jackson Pollock’s paintings can display both a sloppy brilliance and fits of calculatedmadness. Oddly enough, so can this new biopic of the artist, as channeled through thegaunt body of director/star Ed Harris.
A true labor of love for Harris, “”Pollock”” works from Steven Naifeh’s PulitzerPrize-winning book to trace the trajectory of the tortured artist’s career, from starvingfailure in New York’s Greenwich Village to the top of the heap at the Guggenheim, andback down again. Harris reportedly was first attracted to the material almost a decade agowhen his father casually suggested a physical resemblance between the two artists.While the face of Jackson Pollock might not be so familiar to the modern audience, his artcertainly should ring a bell or two. After years of toiling away, with a modicum of success,in the undefined world of the expressionist painters, Pollock finally happened upon themethod that would propel him to stardom: a seemingly scattershot form of dripping painton a canvas spread across the floor that, when complete, creates a flurry of squiggly lines,colors and images in one fantastic mural.But Pollock, a heavy-drinking psychotic, never would have made it that far if not for theefforts of Lee Krasner (Marcia Gay Harden), his wife and business partner (with anemphasis on the latter) who pushed the artist to the brink of success, and then eventuallyinto his grave. A relentless woman – and an artist herself – Krasner latched onto Pollock’sgravy train early, and did everything in her power to keep the man’s train on track. Thetwo shared a combustible chemistry, one that pushed Pollock into uncontrollable bouts oflunacy and self-doubt and may have contributed to the man’s early death.Krasner, however, shouldn’t receive all the blame for Pollock’s demise. Harris portrays Pollockas a man plagued by many demons, alcohol being the least in a long line. Gay Hardenreceived an Oscar for her role as the unrelenting Krasner, but it’s Harris who commandsthe screen, teetering from ecstatic creator to devastated washout in the course of the film.In approaching the art world from a different angle, though, “”Pollock”” veers off course. Morethen ever before, and probably because of Krasner’s influence on the man, we see thecommercialism of the creative process. Pollock often gauges his success on the amount ofpaintings he sells, not completes. And at one point, the artist’s relationship with esteemedcritic Clement Greenberg, played by Jeffrey Tambor, so overwhelms Pollock that itappears he’s painting strictly for this man and not for himself. When the true love ofpainting disappears, so too does Pollock’s reason for being, and the film’s final actchronicles his descent into alcoholism and the eventual, possibly inevitable suicide. It wasn’t supposed to end that way, and Harris the director knows that. So his ending issufficient and sparse. But a beautiful scene brings the film’s true point home at an earlierpoint. Pollock, being filmed for a movie about his work, is told to stop painting by adirector who has run out of film. But Pollock continues, unaware of the director, and wesee the love of the process in his eyes. Harris finds the spirit, and it comes through here.GRADE: B- THE EXTRASHarris’ love for the project shines through on this thorough “”Pollock”” DVD fromColumbia TriStar. There are more than enough ways to study the director’s opinion of thefilm, the artist, etc. His commentary track is particularly amusing, but again, his interest inPollock and this film are evident. For further analysis, the DVD also includes Harris’ appearance on “”The Charlie RoseShow,”” where the two rap about . . .um, Pollock. Sense a trend here? Back to the film, thedisc includes a Making-Of featurette, 4 deleted scenes, filmographies, trailers and a link tothe film’s website. About the only thing missing is an apology letter from the Academy forby-passing Harris at the 2000 Oscars. Next time, Ed.GRADE: BOVERALL EXPERIENCEOn the surface, “”Pollock”” serves to open the eyes of anyone unfamiliar with the famedpainter’s works, which Harris admits to being before he started the film. But it doesn’tprobe too deep, actually skipping over a chunk of Pollock’s life where his marriagecollapses, and fails to provide insight or reasons as to why he was the way he was. We’reasked to accept it and move on. Many will view it for Harden’s celebrated performance,but it’s Harris’ dramatic turn in front of and behind the camera that is worth your time andenergy.FINAL GRADE: B