Joseph Gordon-Levitt — A Thousand Shades of Crazy

From Hesher

A few weeks ago I profiled Matthew McConaughey, drawing the conclusion that he had become a master of inserting his personality into every character he played. This isn’t a derisive remark. It’s a Hollywood tradition. John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Vincent Price, Clifton Webb, Clint Eastwood – talented stars, all of them — had substantial careers.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt doesn’t do it that way.  More in the tradition of Daniel Day-Lewis or early Rod Steiger and Robert De Niro, Joseph Gordon–Levitt creates a fresh creature, an absolute original each time.  Even when directors hire him because of previous performances as a type  — a wild or crazy, often-criminal young kid — the actor simply won’t play it the same way twice.

In Mysterious Skin (2004), Gordon-Levitt was a victim of molestation, he portrayed a disturbed, self-destructive teen who seemed intent on only harming himself until he is contacted by another victim and sees the need to get through i.

Brick (2005) has become a cult classic.  And while some experts disagree, many find the movie an unexpected small, noir masterpiece (set in a high school).  Gordon-Levitt has the distinction of playing the part Bogart or Mitchum would normally play. He pulls it off, always on the verge of losing, almost playing the fool. He is tough, relentless in in his pursuit of a noble but impossible goal.

From Brick

Killshot (2008) is based on Elmore Leonard’s book by the same name.  Here, Gordon-Levitt gets the humor.  The wild and crazy kid in this film, unlike the others isn’t the sharpest tool in the drawer as a character, but as an actor he makes dumb charming, funny and horrifying, as I suspect Leonard meant it.

Talk about dry humor, as Hesher (2009) we see the most cold-blooded of the young disturbed characters he plays.   Without trying, he out-squints Eastwood and gives you an as unpredictably yet believably crazy guy in ways that are as subtle and effective as Mitchum. Yet he is neither of them. He is not doing impersonations, but can easily communicate a thousand words in a single glance.

In the strange but riveting Looper (2012), Gordon-Levitt seems to have made his last pass through youth.  All innocence is lost.  The sweet, funny young kid from “Third Rock From The Sun” is gone.

As he matures as an actor and a human, I think we are witnessing one of the best transitions from child star to adult since Leonardo DiCaprio.  Lately, he has had significant roles in such blockbuster films as Inception (2010) The Dark Knight Rises, (2012) and Lincoln (2012).  With Don Jon, he seems to have moved on.  He seems to have taken the status seriously by writing and directing a film that has arrived with accolades. At 32, Gordon-Levitt is an adult. It will be fascinating to see what talent tapped so early can achieve as time passes. 

Film Pairing — The Once And Future Noir

Blade Runner ranked first on a list of top nine crime films I posted here earlier. If I were to redo the list I might have to make room for Inception. 

While it doesn’t have the wonderful noir moodiness of Blade Runner, Inception is exceptional.  Someone described it as a heist movie.  That works for me.  A team of criminals with specialized talents go about the delicate process of stealing information from the brain of one person in order to implant that idea into the brain of a person who will believe is his own.  We travel not in the outside world but in the world of dreams and dreams within dreams.  The laws of reality, as they often do in my dreams anyway, are suspended.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film’s protagonist, played by Leonardo DeCaprio, is a deeply flawed dream traveler who brings with him a team of experts to carry out the heist.  Among the other actors are Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Cilian Murphy and Tom Berenger.  Michael Caine makes a brief appearance.  As you might expect from Nolan, though, the real star are the special effects — dazzling in their imagination and convincing in their execution.  Oddly enough and unlike say, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, there remains a cold genuine connection to reality after all.  The images may be oddly placed and even fold into themselves, but it is not truly as fantastic as dreams or nightmares might be. No matter which dream we are witnessing, these are familiar worlds.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Blade Runner is a masterpiece.  I have no authority to say so.  It is simply my opinion.  The world created in this film is recognizable in the sense that we understand such things as modes of transportation, the concept of robots designed to be human-like, and characters who are cops and robbers.  However, the characters are more broadly and colorfully imagined — more exotic and unpredictable without being absurd.  These are people we can come to believe exist, which is important because some of them are “replicants,” who are not considered human, have no feelings, aren’t, in some minds, alive. But is this true? The simple plot belies the implications, historically and currently, of those who view others as unlike them, perhaps even less than human.  Other races or ethnicities.  Undocumented immigrants.  People of another class or in a different circumstance.  It’s a simple, but powerful story.

Based, many say “loosely,” on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Ridley Scott has a world that is both different and relatable.  Harrison Ford is at his best.  Rutger Hauer and Sean Young are perfectly cast and give the performances of their careers. 

These two films offer a night of challenge.  Inception, particularly, demands that you pay attention.  If you get up for a second glass of Pernod, put the DVD on “pause.”  For a different reason, you won’t want to miss a moment of Blade Runner.  Each frame is a work of art.  Both films will make you think, imagine, question. 

I suggested Pernod as an accompaniment to the night of films because of its near hallucinogenic quality.  Whatever you choose, it should loosen you up a bit.  It’s not a night for Scotch or Martinis.

Film Pairing — Elmore Leonard On Celluloid

Elmore Leonard is one of those writers whose books are regularly snatched up by Hollywood. 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Mickey Rourke

When I revisited the film Kill Shot, the 2008 film based on Leonard’s book, I was a bit surprised at the seriousness of the film.  True, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s powerfully agile performance as a dangerous fool offered some comic relief. Essentially, though Kill Shot is not funny. The film was intended to keep the viewer on edge as we witnessed the attempts on the lives of ordinary people Diane Lane and Thomas Jane by Gordon-Levitt’s character and the scary, professional hitman played by Mickey Rourke.  As is the case for most of Leonard’s characters, the bad guys are more interestingly drawn than the others.  My attention picked up whenever the killers were on screen whether they were killing or not.  Their interaction was well-drawn.  Rosario Dawson does a fine job as the not too bright Gordon-Levitt’s not too bright girlfriend.  The film, directed by John Madden, was released in 2008.

Dennis Farina, Scene Stealer

Unlike Kill Shot, Get Shorty, relies less on whether or not someone was going to get whacked, but on the humor surrounding the stupidity of the crooks.  This is the Elmore Leonard I enjoy most.  The story reaches a sort of believable absurdity.  The plot is convoluted, compared to Kill Shot, but it sets up a funny and clever end.  We watch a kindly, charming con man, played by a likable, laid-back John Travolta as he pits various gangsters against each other in a way that seems to right several wrongs.

For my money, as in Leonard’s books, the characters here make the movie.  And the cast is up to it.  Gene Hackman plays a shallow Hollywood director/producer.  Rene Russo is a B picture actress with ties to a major star, Danny DeVito.  The scene stealers, for me, were Dennis Farina and Delroy Lindo as gangsters with James Gandolfini who is supposed to be an enforcer, but is happily not quite up to the task. You’ll also notice Bette Midler in a small role and cameos by Harvey Keitel, Penny Marshall and Jane Fonda.  This film, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and released in 1995, is a lot of fun.

Incidentally, a couple of weeks ago, we talked about older writers.  It should be noted that the highly regarded, prolific Elmore Leonard is 86. His most recent novel, Raylan, was released earlier this year.

To accompany the movies, you might get inventive with some cocktails, moving from the serious to the light-hearted.  For inspiration visit Vince Keenan’s wonderful web site. Click on cocktails. Of course, you may wish to wander around the rest of posts as well.