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When I think of the Ozark Mountains in southern Missouri
and northern Arkansas, I personally think of a region with
incredible natural beauty and a vast, rich history. The Ozarks
are a place with more natural caves and spring rivers than
anywhere else in the country. The region was filled with the
history of the Native Americans, the French fur traders, and
some of the most significant battles of the Civil War. But
when most other outside people think of it, they think of
gun-totin', self righteous Krazy Konservative Khristians (KKK).
They think of bucktoothed inbreeds who like to butt hump Ned
Beatty. (Even though, for the record, that was Georgia.) They
think of John Ashcroft and the Assemblies of God or worse:
They think of Yakov Smirnoff and Branson-"Las Vegas as
planned by Ned Flanders." The history and nature of the
Ozarks in direct contrast with the "progressive"
human development and control was something I thought about
a great deal while watching John Sayles' new civic lesson
Sunshine State. During his career as a writer-director-producer-editor,
Sayles has moved from geographic regions and stories about
Appalachian union strikes (Matewan) to Irish fairy
tales (The Secret of Roan Inish) to Chicago baseball
scandals (Eight Men Out) to the mysterious misery of
Alaska (Limbo). I often wondered how one guy was able
to soak up and comprehend so much about so many different
parts of history and about so many different parts of the
world. But as I watched him juggle characters and plot points
amidst alligator farms and golf courses, I realized that he
had tapped into feelings and sentiments that I felt about
my area. That somehow, he has captured some of the most basic
human understandings of the places that we inhabit.
Plantation Island, FL is a sleepy coastal town with a history
notorious with battles between the Natives and pirates. That
tradition continues even to this day, although the natives
are a bit more white and possess Southern accents while the
pirates arrive in rental cars and bulldozers in place of the
traditional ship and bow. While there are many inhabitants
of this sleepy, coastal hamlet profiled in Sunshine State,
the film places its center on two women. Marly (Edie Falco)
has inherited a run-down restaurant/motel from her retired
father. She had other plans for her life, but the real world
and a deadbeat husband (Richard Edson) forced to begin her
dead end path from being a mermaid at a local roadside attraction
to her current position as waitress/disinfranchised business
owner. It seems that the most recent pirates...er, developers
have set their eyes on her business, and she is steadfast
to defend her position. She may be doing this simply for the
will of her ill old pop, but it is one that requires the developers
to pull out the big guns. This includes Jack Meadows (Timothy
Hutton), a divorced landscape architect who seems to have
set his sights on something other than the beachfront property.
Oh la la. The other story revolves around Desiree Perry (Welcome
back, Angela Bassett!), a women who left the town when she
was fifteen due to some maternal issues, both with mama (Mary
Alice) and with her own impending pregnancy. She returns to
reconcile with her family and to confront the man whom she
was impregnated. (Shhhh! That's a secret.) The events of these
women's lives coincides with the newly developed "traditional"
Buccaneers Celebration (Encouraged by the Chamber in order
to boost interest) and with a coordinated protest against
the new development from the nearby Lincoln Beach, a predominately
black community. Hardly any of this description includes the
various subplots that involve the banker attempting to fund
his dog-betting addictions to the local drama teacher trying
to rehabilitate troubled youths, but one can be sure that
Sayles ties all of it nicely into the bigger picture.
Most of Sayles best work acts as entertaining civic lessons.
Indeed, he sometimes will include scenes that function almost
for the sole purpose of cinematic notetaking: There are long
passages of exposition that get taken care of during the local
Planning and Zoning meetings or lectures by teachers attempting
to explain the aspect of Plantation Island's history to a
student. Sometimes this comes off as laborious or heavy-handed.
Fortunately, Sunshine State may get ranked as one of
Sayles' lightest and funniest films and this includes that
beforementioned . Certainly, it contains the very dense and
deliberate character development of his earlier work, but
it must be something about Florida that makes his work here
seem cheerier and breezier. Thanks to the likes of Carl Hiassen,
Dave Barry, and the 2000 elections, we all know what a bunch
of oddball characters exist in the state. But they have problems
too, and Sayles seemingly humanizes them more so than any
other recent piece of work centered in Florida. There's no
sign of union strikes or of long-forgotten murder cases.
This is a film about these quirky characters trying to
hold on to their heritage and, in turn, to their dignities.
This is ultimately a piece that focuses not only on both History
vs. Development and Man vs. Nature, but our human desire to
understand each side of those debates. It's a film that says
that we clearly should not live in the past, but understands
that we are truly nothing without our pasts. It's a film that
says humans have an almost instinctual need to control nature,
but ultimately nature reminds us that we can only be a part
of nature until we destroy it. Clearly, we know what side
we are to root for, but Sayles is too smart to make the bad
guys seem all that bad and one-sided. The character of Jack
is written and properly played by Hutton as a guy not intent
on destruction, but as a guy who sees progress as something
that does not have to destroy its surroundings. He is advocating
on behalf of his company with this philosophy in mind. Most
films would have made this character a cardboard, mushstache-twirling
Altman-esque villian, but it's more complicated here. It's
very easy to see why Marly falls for him. There's too much
gray area for her to really overevaluate the situation. It's
pretty good stuff, and Sayles is good about making the entire
piece balanced in the same way. I loved the Greek chorus of
golfers, led by veteran comedian Alan King, that show up to
debate the issues presented in the film. Honestly, these guys
are meant for laughs but no shots are ever cheaply made at
their expense. It's their outlook and we are asked to merely
evaluate it. Ultimately, their viewpoint is the setup to a
great punchline in the film's ending, but it work in the scheme
of the film all the same.
The two big battles in the film are expansive and seemingly
endless, but Sayles put in his two cents and crafts a great
film around the two. He is helped largely by his cast. Hutton
and King have already been mentioned, but Bassett and Falco
are two big reasons for the film's success. Bassett conveys
a lot of pain with her portrayal of Desiree, but she also
gets to show some compassion and understanding when she realizes
that she has herself to blame among her family, lovers, and
environment. It's really good stuff from a really good actress
that hasn't been seen in awhile. Falco, though, has a special
place in my heart that began with her pitch-perfect job as
Carmella Soprano in the landmark television program. Here,
she shows she's just as good on the silver screen as Marly.
Not only does she handle her Southern accent and chemistry
with Hutton well, but she also expresses the feelings of lost
dreams of lost hope. The scenes where she imagines returning
to her role as a mermaid would probably come off as absurd
if it were not for her absolute conviction in pulling it off.
It's also really interesting to see her put all of this character's
heart and soul into a fight that is not her own. The power
of both of these performances should garner at the very least
award nominations, let alone wins. They are required to be
the rocks in the crazy swirl of this film, and they remain
solid all the way through.
Sunshine State was set in Florida, but it could have
been about the Ozarks, about the Rockies, or about any place
where people have strong feelings about their surroundings
one way or the other. There is something about our roots or
even about our current surroundings that we will never be
able to escape. It seems to seep into our minds and our spirits
like a strong smell that gets into the fabric of our clothes.
I don't expect Sayles to ever find his way down to Table Rock
Lake where he will film the conflict between the Missouri
Department of Conservation and Jim Stafford, but I can at
least take comfort in the fact that he took the time and energy
in his films to show me that there are people out there who
feel the same way. Movies almost have a God-given mandate
to connect the audience to the characters, and Sunshine
State proves that Sayles is indeed one of the masters
of this connection. Check it out, but be sure to bring a pair
of high swamp waders.
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