This So-Called Disaster

This So-Called Disaster basically documents the pre-production of Sam Shepard's 2000 play, `The Late Henry Moss', from about the third week of rehearsals to opening night. The movie is overall very engaging in its presentation of the featured actors involved, and because the visual style makes the viewer feel as though they were in the audience during the play's preparations.

Because `Henry Moss' is partially autobiographical, this movie provides some scenes of Shepard providing anecdotes about growing up with his father. I liked these scenes very much, because Sam Shepard's relationship with his father did was not typical of some relationships that alcoholic fathers had with their sons. There is a sense that Shepard accepted the way in which his father acted while drunk, and did not seem to have too much of a problem maintaining a relationship with him.

But the parts of Disaster that I particularly liked were everything involving the rehearsals of the play. It is very interesting to see the contrasting styles of preparation seen in the different actors, such as Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, Cheech Marin, Woody Harrelson, and John Gammon. It was amazing to see that these actors were able to nail their performances every time they rehearsed their lines.

Along with their preparations, I was able to see these people in a much different light than I ever had before. In this movie, I wasn't seeing Sean Penn, bad boy actor, or Nick Nolte the oddball (though he does have his moments). The actors in the play are presented in this movie as people who are actors, not Hollywood movie stars.

Michael Almereyda does the viewer a favor by keeping the camera pretty much stationary throughout the picture. Early on, I thought I had to prepare myself for some sort of home video visual style, which is very amateurish in that it shakes all over the place and never settles down. But thankfully, the camera allows the audience to see this movie as though they were in the theater, watching people like Penn, Nolte, and others get ready for their performances.

Enjoyable documentary on the staging of Sam Shepard's play 'The Late Henry Moss, with a star- laden cast (who are also some of our very finest actors). Some fascinating, and often funny interviews with Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Sam Shepard and others as they struggle through the artistic process. Even more interesting - at least to me- was the actual footage of the rehearsal process, where we can watch how a group with all this great talent slowly finds its way along with the material and each other. Indeed, if I had a complaint it would be that I would have loved more of the work process, even at the expense of some of the talking heads. A must for anyone interested in theater in general or Sam Shepard in particular.

This is a hard film to review because basically it was nothing more than a documentary reviewing the performances and story of Shepard's new play. It was a huge review that showcased the talents of the artist and the director while also giving us a backstage pass to a play many of us probably never heard of. It was our chance to see art in progress without having to leave the comfort of our couches. This was sad to see because we as people should be getting out of our seats and spending more time in museums, theaters, and galleries, but for those that do not wish to do so we have this film to enjoy. We get to see one side of the story with good emotional moments torn out to allow for more of Shepard trying to show us that this play is not about his life, but instead just a work of fiction.

While I am sure that this comment will anger some, I felt that this documentary was too commercial. I say this because I am not really sure what the purpose of making this film was. By the end of the film, I am excited to see that Shepard's work paid of well for him, but I never really saw him struggling. I guess that I am brought up in the MTV generation where "reality programs" have that constant theme of emotional turbulence, but there was nothing in this feature that came close to that. There was honestly no real direction that director Michael Almereyda gave to his film. Were we to see that Shepard was a bastard in real life because of the influence of his father? Maybe, but it was never shown. There was the one scene where Shepard tells Nolte to forget that his mother just died because he has a job to fulfill, a job that basically highlights the death of his own father. I thought that this was rude of Shepard, and I felt some unknown sympathy for Nolte. Outside of this Shepard was never really mean to his actors nor did he ever really blow a fuse. His emotional level was non-existent as he wandered through this documentary. Perhaps this film was to show how the actors stressed emotionally and physically to Shepard's style of directing? I would have to say I never saw this either. The actors did their job (well, maybe not Woody) and they listened to what Shepard had to say. He was respected and everyone gave him the respect that he deserved. This was a flawless performance and development that I thought Almereyda was trying to create. I thought he was the catalyst in this film, only causing more trouble than actually showing the play itself. It almost felt as if he was digging his nose into other people's business, and they were not receptive to it. I remember one scene where Penn literally ran away when he saw the camera. I don't think anyone was overly excited about this guy filming their work.

Overall, I was not impressed with this film. I have seen documentaries come and go that better showcase the trials or honesty of a production than this film did. I felt at times the documentary felt scripted and forced to both us the viewers and the actors. Shepard was a pit of lies as he attempted to push the idea that this was not about his life, but instead a "father/son" themed performance, when in actuality there was documented proof that Henry Moss was a very close representation of his father. I wanted honesty with everyone, and I found none of it. I had trouble seeing what the purpose of this documentary. If it was to show how Hollywood hitters go back to their roots and learn acting 101, then so be it … but it had to be longer. The time of 89 minutes just didn't give me enough meat and potatoes to fully appreciate the work. We were jumbled around between the direction, the acting, and the sub-stories that ultimately plagued this film, but not the production of the play. There was no reason for this film and I think that Almereyda was really grabbing and hoping that he would uncover something, yet he never did. I was unhappy with the final cut of this film and do not suggest it to anyone. Skip it; there are better ones out there!

Grade: * out of *****

Anyone interested in theater will love this. Most others will too. An excellent documentary of the theater. You see the play being made, the resolution of director's vision and actors as they struggle to find their characters. The interviews with Shepard are sometimes excellent. That's the first movie. Then you get enough of the actual play to get the gist, and it is a very engaging play. Movie number three is the back-story about Sam Shepard's father. Plus you get to see Penn and Nolte lounging around like real actors. So there's that little fillip of celebrity watching. These three experiences make the whole that much richer.

The documentary "This So-Called Disaster" is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Sam Sheppard's semi-autobiographical play "The Late Henry Moss," which debuted in San Francisco in 2000. Being himself the son of an alcoholic father, Sheppard drew upon his own personal experience for this cathartic tale of two brothers' coming to terms with the death of their own alcoholic father. The actors in this production include Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Cheech Marin and Woody Harrelson. As Penn says at one point, Sheppard's plays often deal with the theme of men trying to forge their identities in a world with no clear-cut definition of what a man is supposed to be. This theme filters through in both the snippets of the play we see being worked on in the rehearsals and in the on-camera interviews with Sheppard and many of the principal performers in the production.

It's a tribute to both the power of Sheppard's writing and the talent of the actors playing the roles that we find ourselves wanting to see this play merely from the glimpses we get of it in rough-cut form. Anyone interested in playwriting and fine acting will be mesmerized by the nuts-and-bolts aspects of this film, as it shows us just how a theatrical work, involving some of the greatest talents in modern drama, ultimately comes to fruition.

It's no "Looking for Richard," but "This So-Called Disaster" has much to offer the serious theaterphile.