Not Necessarily Stone, But…Beautiful

There was a bit of garbling between LawDog and me on this poll (I had suggested ‘worst’, not ‘best’) - but as I thought about it, I realized it actually doesn’t matter.

LawDog is much more knowledgeable about film than I am – so is our esteemed Uncle, who recently wrote while discussing The Last Temptation of Christ, "Generally, people only object to artistic license when it concerns recent historical figures, like Kennedy and Nixon. This is why Oliver Stone gets into so much trouble."

But with due respect to both of them, I don’t think this is the real reason Oliver Stone gets into such trouble. It occurs to me that the reason he does is because he makes visual position papers and you’ll like or dislike his films based on your reaction to the position he takes. It’s not that he tells a story – he takes a position and slaps you around with it. Half the time I see his films, I feel like I’m in an argument as I sit silently in the theatre. I can’t think of any other director who makes me react in quite this way. And this is the thing, and also the reason why it doesn’t matter whether this poll is about the best film or the worst film by Oliver Stone.

You know, it’s interesting to note that JFK did so well in this poll – it coincides with the fact that most of the American people believe that we don’t know the truth about Kennedy’s assassination, and that most of the American people believe it was a conspiracy. Was it really that great of a movie, though?

What makes this even more confounding is that I can’t frankly decide whether it’s bad or not. I find I disagree with his positions as presented in Wall Street, for example, or The Doors. I was appalled at JFK. I loathed Natural Born Killers, which I thought was a sickening mess, and in fact after I saw that film, I swore I would never see another OS film again.

And yet… I thought Platoon was profound. I loved Talk Radio. So, you know, what’s with this? I don’t have this kind of reaction to other directors, really. My reactions to his films are really, really strong. And I don’t get it.

I occasionally read reviews of movies, I go to see them, and I’m disappointed and appalled at what is considered quality filmmaking. Titanic is a great case in point. Roger Ebert, who I respect as a critic, loved it. I hated it, and I mean I REALLY HATED it. Although to give credit where credit is due, it had pretty amazing special effects – but I thought the story was trite, obvious, ham-handed, and predictable. As I left the theater, I felt like I’d been used; I felt like I needed to go home and take a shower. Having to choose between Titanic and Natural Born Killers, I’d go with Killers – it’s horrible, but it’s less offensive, to me anyway.

This is why I don’t read reviews any more. And also why this question about Oliver Stone nags at me. I want to hate his films uniformly. But I can’t get comfortable with that. Oliver Stone nags at me because really, he’s– well, he’s complicated, confused, contradictory, not always well-reasoned, occasionally nuts, occasionally brilliant (sometimes on purpose, sometimes by accident) – that is, he’s one of us. He just paints his individuality and his personality on a bigger canvas than most of us get.

It’s my opinion that the companies in the entertainment industry need the sure thing. Record companies, for example, aren’t in the business of subsidizing artists– they’re in the business of selling records. The film companies are in a bigger and leakier boat, because a movie is so much more expensive than a record. There will always be exceptions, little engines that can, so to speak. But the industry, in order to get the mega-profits they’ve come to expect, aren’t necessarily interested in modest films with artistic merit. So it’s vital that Oliver Stone continue being Oliver Stone, making movies that confound people, infuriate people, move people, one way or the other.

FC

Poll Topic: Best Oliver Stone Movie
Platoon	38.1% - (199 Votes)
JFK	16.2% - (85 Votes)
Wall Street	11.4% - (60 Votes)
Natural Born Killers	10.5% - (55 Votes)
Born on the Fourth of July	6.3% - (33 Votes)
The Doors	5.1% - (27 Votes)
U-Turn	2.6% - (14 Votes)
Salvador	2.1% - (11 Votes)
Nixon	2.1% - (11 Votes)
Talk Radio	1.9% - (10 Votes)
Any Given Sunday	1.7% - (9 Votes)
The Hand	0.7% - (4 Votes)
Heaven & Earth	0.5% - (3 Votes)
Mad Man of Martinique	0.1% - (1 Votes)
Seizure... aka Queen of Evil	0% - (0 Votes)
Total Votes: 522