A Flash of Green

I completely agree with the positive reviews. A lovely, subtle film, and I can attest to its verisimilitude. I was a reporter in West Palm Beach, Fla. for 1 1/2 years from 1981 to 1983 and this story hits the nail right on the head -- development issues, land use issues, environmental issues and journalism/ethics issues. It's fictional, but it's also completely real.

Just finished viewing "Flash of Green" on the Sundance Channel & was amazed by it's laid-back, easy yet altogether potent quality. Catch this if you can.

It's a wonderful example of the all-American one-good-man theme in journalism, and in the context of the coastal Florida south 'round about the early 1960s. It's about how an individual can both belong to and resist the toxic tides in his or her own immediate environment; has a delicate sense of place without (New York City style) shoving it in your face. Thematically one will also find delicious shades of Rachel Carson & Oliver Sachs (i.e., think out of the box) -- and the acting is superb. Sure, it's a bit of a melodrama; but so what. Isn't that part of what good story telling is about?

I love this movie. It represents some of the very best work of Ed Harris, Blair Brown and Richard Jordan. Aside from that, the story is intelligently written, and intrinsically American. A cynical, bored reporter is hired by a friend and ambitious real estate speculator to publicly smear a group of conservationists who stand in the way of a big land deal. The drawback is, one of the group is a woman the reporter is in love with. He agrees in order to protect her. When things become violent, he confesses his sins, and goes public with his schemes, exposing the real estate swindle. He regains some measure of his pride, and takes a series of brutal beatings in the bargain. In the end his persistence is rewarded, in some measure. Few movies take the time to explore characters as deeply as this one, and offer heroes as complex and flawed, yet still redeemable. The movies moves slowly, at the pace of the Florida landscape it portrays, but it never flags. The characters are absorbing, and the conflicts between them are always intriguing. Victor Nunez's photgraphy and subtle emphasis on mood and insight make for a very moving and thought-provoking film experience. Don't miss it. And take your time watching it. This film isn't about action and plot. It's a lot closer to real life than we've come to expect in film.

For many years I treasured my 4:3 VHS copy of this film, assuming it had been photographed on 16mm on a very low budget. As it turns out this is not the case. Two years ago this film appeared on Netflix Instant in HD. It was available for about six weeks before disappearing without a trace. I watched it in full, stunned to see a gorgeously photographed 35mm film in crystal clear widescreen. One of the things you cannot appreciate when watching the VHS copy is the stellar art direction and costume design. The lush pastel colors, the swampy Florida locations, the 1950s cars, the grimy office interiors. It's all vividly presented. I wish the company or persons sitting on that HD copy would release it on bluray or put it back up somewhere for a while. This film is one of those lost 1980s films that deserves a wide release.

Probably the most amateurish movie I've seen in regards to editing/camerawork, choreography, framing, etc. It's not terrible, but you can clearly see where they needed to try again and do better. This may be the only movie that actually does a shaky half zoom in on a character mid scene as a way of correcting the shot instead of just reshooting zoomed in.

To preface, the premise of the movie is interesting to me. A cynical newspaper journalist, who's wife is essentially in hospice, betrays his friends of the local town to work for a web spinning county commissioner on the promise that he'll feel more in control of his life rather than ever being the nuetral onlooker. He quickly realizes that this was not the treatment he needed for his sour outlook, and pulls a 180 to try and rectify his wrongdoings and progress the political cause of what's left of his friends.

The dialogue, especially between Jimmy and Elmo, has a tendency to be sharp. Not all dialogue lands well, however, which leads me to my overall hardship: this promising premise was never elevated in such a way that prevented the story from remaining boring at times. Being based off a novel, I understand the story shouldn't change much (no clue how true to the book it is), but filmmakers are able to take a snoozy premise and transform it into much more engaging material on screen. This wasn't done here.

Another kind of curiosity I have is in regard to the title and meaning behind A Flash of Green. The scene in which Jimmy learns of this flash was one of the more interesting ones in the entire movie, and I was sure this was going to lead to Jimmy seeing the flash by the end. However, he never does as confirmed in one of the last scenes with the old woman who says she'd seen three that winter. The only option I can make out for this being the case is the final scene with Jimmy looking out at the Bay's industrial development. Is that his "flash of green"? If so, I give the movie more credit. If not, then I fail to see the point of this piece of the story.

I definitely elevated the rating higher than it should be by a half star due to my soft spot for decent dialogue writing, of which I believe there are many examples present within the film. If I were to learn that all of my favorite interactions are straight out of the novel, however, I'd snatch that half star away from this adaptation in a heartbeat.

From a movie making standpoint, there are just a lot of noticeable weaknesses here.

WATCHED ON: Plex

HIGHER OR LOWER: Lower.