I'd heard of Buster Keaton but hadn't seen anything of his and wanted to include him in the festival. With a bit of research, this title rose to the top of the pile -- I thought that with its dream-theme, movie within a movie, and spy story, it ought to be perfect. I was right. But I was so much more right than I could have ever dreamed. The movie blew us away.
Specs:
45 minutes, black and white silent. Available on Netflix, you can also find it on Youtube
Our family's average rating (on a scale of 1-10):
8.25
Without wanting to overstate the point, this film changed my life. My kids and husband really enjoyed it too, but for me, well, it (and Keaton) took over my head heart and soul.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, we added some of his earlier work and a couple more features to our festival after encountering him in this one, but this one was the first and will probably always be my favorite. Sherlock Jr. is profoundly interesting and well made. When you have a lot of experience watching movies (as we do now) and are plumbing the depths of 90 year-old work to fill up your summer, you just don't really expect that many surprises. But Sherlock Jr. surprises. It actually astounds.
Our hero is known simply as "the Boy." He's unskilled but confident. He works as a projectionist but he has hopes of being a detective. Keaton gives a great nuanced performance -- imbuing the Boy with longing, shyness, the desire to step up and be a man, and an overarching fear of failure. He's so timid with his girl that he can't look at her when he gives her a ring. But he fearlessly tracks his suspect all around town when framed by his rival for the theft of a watch. There's great acting, great comedy touches (like Keaton's hilariously walking in lockstep with the suspect), and clever vaudeville visual stunts. The pacing is brisk and perfect, the locations transportative, and there are sweet little details like having "the Girl", played by Kathryn McGuire, actually solve the crime herself in a matter of minutes while Buster is out bumbling around.
All this comes together to make the film complete and engaging, but the real punch is packed by its technological wonders. When the Boy gets back to his projector and starts the afternoon's show, he dozes off. Several amazing things start to happen. A hazy second-self wakes up, fractions off from the Boy, and walks away. He steps through the audience and orchestra and into the playing movie, with in-camera effects that are so well done that they look beautiful, convincing and evocative even in 2012.
What makes these scenes remarkable is not that Keaton was able to achieve them, technically speaking, but that he was able to weave them, artfully, into a story where they actually matter. When the Boy enters the picture and attempts to interact, he is expelled from the action. He doesn't belong. An astonishing editing sequence shows Buster in the middle of the scene as the movie continues to shift around him -- the background becoming a garden, a rocky outcrop, a jungle, a desert and a snow bank, etc. The effort involved in piecing together this nearly seamless sequence was massive. And it's beautiful work. But what makes it mind-blowing is that it is used to further the story. Not until he finds a role he can dream himself into, can Buster enter the movie. So when the bad guys on screen concoct their nefarious plot, Buster finally enters the make believe world as smooth, suave, Sherlock Jr.
At this point the technological thrills give way to more slapstick ones, including my favorite, Buster riding on the handlebars of a motorcycle after the driver has been kicked off. Cars, puddles and men with shovels can't unseat him as he speeds along through the streets of LA and deftly past the still undeveloped hills of Southern California.
The movie, at just 44 minutes, is a fast and furious ride that we highly recommend taking.
Iconic shot:
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