I've never been able to make it through this Faulkner novel, but anyone who is able to cipher through the notoriously confusing The Sound and the Fury and write a coherent screenplay should be congratulated. I think the only reason this movie was panned was because it was James Franco's baby, and very few of his movies were well-liked by the critics. Had someone else put his name on the film, directed it and starred as the mentally retarded Benji, the film probably would have been touted and given dozens of nominations throughout the awards season. Instead, it was criticized as being a failure and given the terrible insult of "it's hard to fault him for trying."
This heavy, upsetting drama follows a Southern family in the 1920s; crowned by patriarch Tim Blake Nelson, the four siblings have immense problems and struggle to face their existence. Split into four sections, each section is filmed with a different touch and tone. Experimenting with light, framing, and point of view, each segment clearly describes what the different characters are going through and how they look at life. Had anyone else directed this movie, with the same result, I really believe the talent behind the camera would have been praised.
The first section is from James Franco's point of view, so everything is handheld, wild, and confused. One image leads to a memory, which leads to another memory, and when brought back to the present moment, both Franco and the audience are briefly disoriented. Franco's character is mentally retarded, and as simple pleasures calm him down momentarily, the slightest upset can change his mood. He loves his sister, who was the only one to defend him when they were little, but his obsession with finding reminders of her gets him into trouble. He's always assigned a guardian to walk with him and try to manage his moods, but since his "keepers" begrudge the duty and treat him terribly, he absorbs their negative energy. He can hear conversations about sending him away to an asylum, he can tell when people are insulting him, and on some level, he knows he's unable to express himself or communicate better than an animal.
The second section shows Jacob Loeb's troubles as he deals with his immense emotional problems, as well as his incestuous relationship with his sister. It doesn't seem possible for anything to be more disturbing than the first segment, but watching people with mental problems who don't have Franco's excuse is really disturbing. The third section cements the pattern: Ahna O'Reilly has a profound and damaging impact on all three of her brothers' lives. Both Franco and Loeb get into permanent trouble as they seek different versions of her love, and Scott Haze is left to pick up the pieces of her irresponsible mistake. She leaves behind an illegitimate child and Scott has to put his entire life on hold while he raises his niece. He's supposed to be a villain, but as the best villains can make the audience understand them, his frustration is completely relatable. He's left cleaning up everyone else's messes, and he's forced to watch history repeat itself with the next generation. He becomes the new patriarch, patronizing his mother and putting up with his brother, and the young daughter of the family gets into trouble and disrespects propriety and family order. When he loses his temper with Joey King's rebellious behavior, you feel like joining him. Everything gets wrapped up with a brief fourth section following Loretta Devine, a family servant who has known the siblings since childhood. I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing this segment was longer, since Loretta's such a pro and isn't given as much screen time to show her talent, but with the heavy subject matter of the past ninety minutes, it's understandable that the movie took pity on its audience and ended quickly.
The performances in The Sound and the Fury are mind-blowing. You know the feeling you get when you see a stage play with incredible actors who bounce emotions off each other so perfectly there's a tangible hum in the air? You'll get the same feeling when you watch this movie. Each cast member seems so set in his or her role, it'll be nearly impossible to see them in other movies and believe they can play other characters. Not a single emotion of James Franco's wordless performance hints to the audience, "Look how great an actor I am!" He's not pretending to be mentally retarded and completely out of touch with his surroundings; he actually is. If you've never seen in his earlier heartthrob films, you won't really be able to appreciate the depth of his transformation. And if anyone else had given that performance, he probably would have gotten an Oscar nomination out of it. If you can get yourself in the mood for a heavy Southern drama that makes Tennessee Williams's plays seem like screwball comedies, rent James Franco's highly underrated The Sound and the Fury.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. The entire first section and a couple of scenes in the second section are filmed with a handheld camera, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to sexual content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
