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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 1981)
page 8 daily nebraskan tuesday, april 14, 1981 ?G(30ilG(ifiJDMnG Tostman' delivers existentialism in film remake By Pete Schmitz . . . They liave apparently killed the dirty little secret, but somehow, they have killed everything else too. . . DM. Lawrence in "Pornography And Obscenity" Throughout history, artists, writers, puritans and lovers have often equated eroticism with death. And it is ob vious that this formula has been imputed to females more than males. In the 19th century we had Gustav Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Kate Choplin's The Awaken ing, and Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, in which the heroine in each of these novels commits suicide after tasting the fruits of passion. Early in this century, D.H. Lawrence liberated the passionate woman from suicide and execution, but the heroines in Lawrence's fiction often paid with the price of their independence. But of all these works, as reactionary as they may seem to some feminists, were grounded in an accurate vision of a society which did not allow women the freedom to explore the realms of their desires. )W0 reuicn Cora, the female protagonist of The Postman Always Rings Twice, dies because of her desire for Frank, which leads them to murder Nick, her husband. In the 1940's production with lana Turner and John Garfield. Frank is executed as the result of an unkind twist of fate which makes him realize that "the postman will always ring twice". But Garfield's confession to the priest is morally unconvincing, for we know that he would have said nothing to him (the confession structures the narrative of this movie) had he not been implicated for the killing of Cora, which was really accidental. Sexisentialist story Director Bob Raffelson (Five Fasy pieces,Stay Hungry) and scenarist David Mamet, were onto a brilliant idea when they decided to "existentializc" their remake. But instead of presenting what could have been a power ful existenialize tract, they give us an unsatisfying sexist iaist melodrama. The lucid screenplay of the 40's production is far better than the muddled version that Mamet and Raffel son wrote. The characters here (played by Jack Nichol son, Jessica Lange and John Coclios) lack personality, motivation and history. And it is ironical that Raffelson tries so hard to give his film the European look (lie brings in Swedish cinematographerIngmar Bergman collaborator Sven Nykvist) while he patronizes the Greeks in this story (Nick is Greek) with ethnocemtrist contempt. Stupid, sloppy boors Nick is portrayed as a stupid, sloppy boor who cannot " i w J V c .I V :k 1) Courtesy of Paramount Pictures Jessica Lange and Jack Nicholson star in Paramount's remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice. understand Cora, who married him out of resignation. But Nicholson's Frank is also a stupid, sloppy boor. John Garfield's Frank was more attractive and plausibly desir able. In fact, Nicholson's Frank is so seedy and repulsive, it is hard to figure out why Cora falls for him. But it easy to understand why Nick is so trusting of him. I wouldn't say that Nicholson was miscast as other critics claim, for short, balding men can be very appealing lovers. The problem with FrankNicholson is that he does not treat Cora any better than her husband did. The only difference between the two men is that Nick slaps Cora in the rear, whereas Frank punches her in the rear. Some improvement. Going back to the 40's production, I was also more impressed by Turner's Cora. Turner was seductive, gripp ing and determined to improve her life. Lange is coy, pliable and apologetic. She breaks down and tells Nichol son how sorry she is for everything that happened, but Turner apologized to no one, and one could tell that Garfield met his match. Turner advanced the events of the story, she had ideas about what she wanted to do with the roadside cafe that Nick owned. She also knew better than to let Frank get the upper hand of things. On the other hand, Lange's Cora is so wishy-washy that one is uncertain of what she does, thinks and feels. Throughout the film there are obvious attempts bv Mamet to make Cora memorable as he provides her with some wisecracks. However, this cannot save Lange from being nothing more than a foul mouthed Barbie doll from the Depression Era. Sex-related fears The most disturbing aspect of the Nicholson-Lange pairing is the fact that rape becomes part of their fore play. In their first love scene, Cora makes an obvious attempt to resist Frank, but persistence benefits him as submission proves beneficial for her. This tension is repeated through the film, which unconciously exposes collective fears and insecurities related to sex. In the kitchen, Cora picks up a knife and drops it before relax ing into a prone position (the castration threat). Later Cora and Frank make love next to Nick's corpse (fear of death), and finally everything works against their perfect crime (fear of God). The Postman Always Rings Twice will polarize film buffs, as some really love it, while others really hate it. "Steamy" has been a popular description of this film, but I would say "humid" is more appropriate. The dark eroticism, and the starkly-lush photography, do little to enhance the existential tenets tor which the director strives. As Frank cries over his dead wife in the end, I wonder ed if the tears were inspired by existential anguish that the actor felt for his character, or by the possibility that Nicholson knew what kind of film this remake would turn out to be.u Immunization shots are cheap travel investmen Commentary by Robert Bauer Pat Twomey is about as friendly as you could expect a nurse to be. And if you are lucky you will never get the chance to visit her. You see, Pat Twomey is the immuniza tions nurse at the UNL Health Center. That means she is in the habit of giving shots and pills. And unless you have masochistic tendencies you probably don't enjoy needles being pushed into your body. departures Nonetheless, no matter how gruesome a shot may sound, you really owe it to yourself to give Pat a call if you plan on traveling outside the United States this sum mer (or any time of the year). After all, you would never forgive yourself if you were galloping across Greece and Turkey and came down with typhoid, hepatitis, cholera, malaria all at once. And as hideous as these all may sound, they are all concerns for anyone traveling in far-fetched, semi-off-the-beaten-track places (like Turkey, Greece, or Morroco). The strangest thing about getting some of Ms. Twomey's injections is that they are practic My free. No matter where you are traveling, or how much your trip is costing, the shots will be the cheapest investment you make. A typhoid injection, for example, costs well under $3. Obviously, then, the cost for Twomey's service is not any reason not to visit her. But the psychological trauma could be a little bit more difficult to surmount. The easiest way to get around this is to go in groups. If you have a travel partner, that's great. Take him or her along. If not, then take your roommate or the guy down the hall. You could even offer to pay for the guy's shot. After all, he might never know when he would need it. Now all of this is in no way to be considered medical advice. But immunizations are one thing you don't want to remember in the middle of your transatlantic flight. Like the U.S. Customs commercials say, it pays to know before you go. Of course immunizations, while perhaps being one of the most important things to have before you go, are not the only thing you should be looking at. Plane tickets would be another thing to consider. Of course if you are planning to fly to Europe for under $800 you should just relax. Finding a ticket now for under $800 would be about as hard to find as a 50-yard-line seat for some football game. Just take it easy for 10 months and try again next February. There are others that you need to tend to also. A back pack, a rail pass, $16 for every day you'll be abroad, a youth hostel pass, a quart of Dr. Bronner's soap, your father's Swiss army knife, an open mind, a high tolerance of anti-American slogans, a lust for French bread rnd every conceivable cheese, and, of course, the ability to carry 25 pounds on your back for a couple of months. Get all these things together and read this column for the next three weeks and come finals you'll be ready to take on the world. Concert to feature 19th century work The final concert of the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra's 1980-81 series will consist of three works, all written in the late 19th century. The performance, under the direction of Robert Emile, will be tonight at 8 at O'Donnell Auditorium on the Nebraska Wesleyan University campus, 50th and St. Paul streets. The "Good Friday Spell" from Richard Wagner's opera Parsifal was first performed in 1882. One of Wagner's biographers calls this opera "a gigantic summing up" of the composer's musical life. Richard Strauss's tone poem . Death and Transfigurat ion will follow . Concluding the evening's program will be the Third Symphony of Saints-Saens. A limited number ,,f tickets are available through the Symphon) oMicc.
