Life
Dir: Anton Corbijn
2015
***
It’s no real surprise that Anton Corbijn has
an interest in the relationship between Life photographer Dennis Stock and
screen legend James Dean as, some twenty years later, he found he had a similar
relationship with musician Herman Brood and His Wild Romance. Dennis Stock
found James Dean by chance when meeting him at one of Nicholas Ray’s parties.
Many future super stars were there but Stock found himself drawn to the rather
subdued Dean. Life magazine took a risk on it, just as Warner Brothers were
taking a risk on Dean and Stock’s photos of Dean became a hit. They are
considered as something of a revolution in terms of modern photographic
portraiture and are still the template of modern photography. Corbijn took a
similar path and would work closely with music stars, contributing regularly
with the NME (New Musical Express) and The Face. He would not have had the
opportunity had Stock not taken his infamous photos of James Dean. The photos
themselves seem a little unordinary, but that is exactly why they were so
striking at the time. A non-posed photo was considered a waste of film, big
stars didn’t have their photos taken while reading or getting their hair cut.
Stocks photos made Dean seem approachable, which he was in real life, and this
was appealing to a mass audience. They’re great photos, undeniably some of the
coolest ever taken, but then they all have a 1950s backdrop and they’re all of
James Dean, so it’s unsurprising, but is that because they just are or is that
because of Stock’s photos specifically? I think it probably is and Corbijn
clearly thinks so to, although he doesn’t push that message as some sort of
agenda. I’m not sure what his agenda is really, I’m not sure he really has one.
Dean’s premature death isn’t explored in the film whatsoever, and we only see
or hear aspects of the films he appeared in by name and the odd addition of a
fellow actor, producer or director. The film is very much about the
relationship between Dean and Stock, and in many respects that’s where the film
fails. What relationship? Where they close in real life, because I’m not really
seeing it in Corbijn’s film. All I see is a troubled photographer having to
deal with an intelligent but arrogant would-be film star. Was he arrogant? Many
people believe that he was undiagnosed bipolar and had a lack of social skills
which I don’t think were ever addressed. Robert Pattinson doesn’t really do
much, the script doesn’t ask much of him and ended up feeling sorry for him.
Dane Dehaan makes a surprisingly better James Dean than I thought he would but he
still looks like a twelve year old pretending to be James Dean, even though he
was two years older than Dean was when he played the part. The direction is
superb, with beautifully rich muted colours and perfect composition. I expected
nothing less from one of the world’s most talented photographers but there is
still nothing of much interest really in the overall film. Ben Kingsley is
brilliant as Jack Warner and has all the best lines, Peter Lucas makes a pretty
good Nicholas Ray and I hope the 99 year old John G. Morris got a kick out of
Joel Edgerton’s portrayal of him but the less said of Eva Fisher’s Judy Garland
and Lauren Gallagher’s Natalie Wood the better, even if they were minor roles
in relatively short scenes. It didn’t need to be all singing and all dancing,
and it certainly isn’t, but there is a certain something about Life that is
compelling. It looks glorious, and that is why I rate the film as high as I do,
but I would have liked a little more substance.
