Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Rebel Without a Cause / USA / 1955

In a recent issue of Esquire magazine, for a concluding feature entitled “ReallyExtremeMakeovers”, Brian Frazer paired a photograph of James Dean posing with his famous Porsche Spyder captioned “Underrated Actor”, with a photo of the wreckage of the “Little Bastard” with the caption “Overrated Actor”. The juxtaposition of the photographs and captions are probably a little crass, but they fittingly describes Dean’s legacy. In truth I enjoy Dean’s performance in Giant far better than his work here, simply because everything about Stevens’s production is huge, including Dean’s performance, while the immediacy and urgency of youth in Rebel feels worn after awhile. Dean could never be accused of being particularly subtle, but he held attention like few others. Unfortunately, very few actors can replicate what he’s capable of, though far too many have tried.

As always, Ray’s picture feels subversive, whether it’s Jim’s emasculated father, Judy’s sexually-aware dad, or the fact that the minorities must suffer the greatest loss. Strangely, its ending appears to even reduce the adolescence viewpoint to its rightful place as an idealized youthful fantasy. As Plato self-destructs, Jim must realize just how difficult it is to succeed as a father, especially when your achievement is based upon your ability to protect your child within a world that cares very little about the details – in this case, whether or not the gun is loaded. Jim’s failure thus forces him to recognize the worth of his own father’s efforts, even if they do appear idiotic at times.

by Chiranjit Goswami | Source: Warner Brothers Special Edition DVD
12 Dec 2005 3:01 PM | Submit Comment