"Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known."- Oscar Wilde
In the 1970s, Annie and Arthur Pope were responsible for the anti-war protest bombing of a napalm laboratory. Though the couple expected the building to be empty, a janitor was present and was left severely blinded by the explosion. As a result, the couple have spent the past 2 decades on the run from the FBI, relying on an underground network of activists and supporters to help them financially.
Sidney Lumet's "Running on Empty" focuses on Danny, the couple's eldest son (River Phoenix). Because the family jump from town to town, constantly changing homes and even identities, Danny's found it hard to settle and forge an identity of his own. His life is in a constant state of flux, leaving Danny to find solace in music.
"Empty" opens with an atmospheric sequence in which the Pope family evade the FBI. We then watch as they settle into a new town and enrol their kids in a new school.
In one cute scene, Danny arrives late to his first music lesson, and is asked by the teacher to explain the difference between Beethoven and Madonna. Danny's answer ("You can't dance to Beethoven!"), and his teacher's later explanation, sums up the central theme of the film. Pop songs, we learn, are largely comprised of a series of predictable rifts and choruses. Beethoven, in contrast, constantly thwarts expectations. He sets up a predictable route, then veers off in different directions. The point is, the young need a familiar beat. And so Danny, who is constantly on the move, constantly out of synch with the world, is never given the time or space to develop a dance of his own. Ironically, it is being "out of sync" which leads to great art. Being "out of sync" creates a kind of artistic "objectivity". An outsiders "view", which Danny embodies.
As the film progresses, Danny clashes several times with his father, a hippie and anti-authoritarian activist who insists that Danny must give up his music (he's been offered a place at a prestigious university) and stay with the family. What makes the film interesting, however, is that Danny is so soft-spoken and loyal to his family that he agrees with his father. This leads to a sort of internal conflict only recognised by Danny's mother. She senses the pain in her own son, and tries to persuade her husband to set him free.
But no, Arthur refuses. If Danny enrols to the prestigious music school he will have to give his real name and real birth details. When he does so, the FBI will track and monitor him, which of course means that Arthur and Annie will never get to see their boy again. It's not a simple matter of forbidding one's son from pursuing art (a common theme in films), but of holding a family together. By setting Danny free, Arthur and Annie effectively prevent themselves from ever seeing him again.
And of course, both Arthur and Annie know all to well how painful it is to be separated from family; they were young when they committed their crime and so have not seen their own mothers and fathers in decades. It is thus an act of profound love which makes the family's decision so difficult.
Lumet has always been an actor's director, so its no surprise that "Running on Empty" features a number of powerful conversations. One of the best involves Danny confessing his identity to a girl he's fallen in love with. Another involves Annie's conversation with her father, a man she hasn't seen since she was a child. Danny's final words to his father are likewise powerful.
Another interesting theme is the film's treatment of art and political activism. Annie and Arthur both tried to change the world, but in wanting to make the world safer for their kids, they've effectively cut their own children off from society. The film then looks at the way the hippies, radicals and political activists of the 1960s and 70s were enveloped and assimilated into a more dour, suburban life, rendered invisible, not by choice, but by what is essentially a complex blend of fear and threat of violence. For Lumet, art (in this case music) thus becomes a form of neo-activism. A form of potent protestation and personal freedom. Danny, in playing his music, does not cut himself off from his family, rather, he reinvigorates the spirit and ideals they once fought for.
8.9/10 – A love letter to artists, sensitively directed by Sidney Lumet. Worth two viewings.
In the 1970s, Annie and Arthur Pope were responsible for the anti-war protest bombing of a napalm laboratory. Though the couple expected the building to be empty, a janitor was present and was left severely blinded by the explosion. As a result, the couple have spent the past 2 decades on the run from the FBI, relying on an underground network of activists and supporters to help them financially.
Sidney Lumet's "Running on Empty" focuses on Danny, the couple's eldest son (River Phoenix). Because the family jump from town to town, constantly changing homes and even identities, Danny's found it hard to settle and forge an identity of his own. His life is in a constant state of flux, leaving Danny to find solace in music.
"Empty" opens with an atmospheric sequence in which the Pope family evade the FBI. We then watch as they settle into a new town and enrol their kids in a new school.
In one cute scene, Danny arrives late to his first music lesson, and is asked by the teacher to explain the difference between Beethoven and Madonna. Danny's answer ("You can't dance to Beethoven!"), and his teacher's later explanation, sums up the central theme of the film. Pop songs, we learn, are largely comprised of a series of predictable rifts and choruses. Beethoven, in contrast, constantly thwarts expectations. He sets up a predictable route, then veers off in different directions. The point is, the young need a familiar beat. And so Danny, who is constantly on the move, constantly out of synch with the world, is never given the time or space to develop a dance of his own. Ironically, it is being "out of sync" which leads to great art. Being "out of sync" creates a kind of artistic "objectivity". An outsiders "view", which Danny embodies.
As the film progresses, Danny clashes several times with his father, a hippie and anti-authoritarian activist who insists that Danny must give up his music (he's been offered a place at a prestigious university) and stay with the family. What makes the film interesting, however, is that Danny is so soft-spoken and loyal to his family that he agrees with his father. This leads to a sort of internal conflict only recognised by Danny's mother. She senses the pain in her own son, and tries to persuade her husband to set him free.
But no, Arthur refuses. If Danny enrols to the prestigious music school he will have to give his real name and real birth details. When he does so, the FBI will track and monitor him, which of course means that Arthur and Annie will never get to see their boy again. It's not a simple matter of forbidding one's son from pursuing art (a common theme in films), but of holding a family together. By setting Danny free, Arthur and Annie effectively prevent themselves from ever seeing him again.
And of course, both Arthur and Annie know all to well how painful it is to be separated from family; they were young when they committed their crime and so have not seen their own mothers and fathers in decades. It is thus an act of profound love which makes the family's decision so difficult.
Lumet has always been an actor's director, so its no surprise that "Running on Empty" features a number of powerful conversations. One of the best involves Danny confessing his identity to a girl he's fallen in love with. Another involves Annie's conversation with her father, a man she hasn't seen since she was a child. Danny's final words to his father are likewise powerful.
Another interesting theme is the film's treatment of art and political activism. Annie and Arthur both tried to change the world, but in wanting to make the world safer for their kids, they've effectively cut their own children off from society. The film then looks at the way the hippies, radicals and political activists of the 1960s and 70s were enveloped and assimilated into a more dour, suburban life, rendered invisible, not by choice, but by what is essentially a complex blend of fear and threat of violence. For Lumet, art (in this case music) thus becomes a form of neo-activism. A form of potent protestation and personal freedom. Danny, in playing his music, does not cut himself off from his family, rather, he reinvigorates the spirit and ideals they once fought for.
8.9/10 – A love letter to artists, sensitively directed by Sidney Lumet. Worth two viewings.