Jonathan Demme

[Lex M]

What are your favorite Jonathan Demme films?

As generic as it sounds, I truly do think SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is his finest all-around movie; It comes pretty close to perfection, and Demme's trademark style is what really sells it, especially his humanism. As in the best Demme films, it's character and an affection for people that curiously elevates this already-exciting thriller. As his recent MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE remake also proves, he's technically proficient at suspense, but his strong suit has always been his love of people, his affection for even the most marginal of characters, both in life and within his movies.

Paul Thomas Anderson frequently lists Demme as among his favorite auteurs, and casual viewers of, say, SILENCE, PHILADELPHIA, and MANCHURIAN might not catcg the connection. But too look back at his great 70s and 80s work is to see a director with both a love of pop kitsch and of the people on the fringe. There are even glimpses of this good-natured acceptance in his muddled recent TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE, in which nearly every member of its delightfully multicultural cast is given something to do, some quirk or bit of business that makes us see them as a real person, not a prop on the way to the next story element. Altman does this, too, but Demme lacks Altman's trademark misanthropy and jaded viewpoint. Demme is liberal in the best sense of the word, while still delivering filmmaking on a visceral level, no matter the genre.

I've never seen CAGED HEAT, his Corman-produced women in prison movie, and I'm not especially huge on CRAZY MAMA, though most of his preoccupations are on display there. For me, the real first "Demme movie" is the wonderful CITIZEN'S BAND (HANDLE WITH CARE), which while dated (the CB craze????) has an eccentric cast of characters who seem like real people, and is PTA-ish in its affection for them.

Speaking of PTA, the first act of his awesome HARD EIGHT owes more than a little to MELVIN AND HOWARD, definitely one of Demme's finest. Jason Robards' Howard Hughes is a fine little performance, but it's Paul LeMat as the working-class everyman who's the real standout here. Between this and AMERICAN GRAFFITTI, it's kind of curious how LeMat's career kind of stalled out; He's a terrific actor, and while watching a regular guy do regular things for 90 minutes might not be riveting cinema, it's a rich movie that gains a lot on reflection.

LAST EMBRACE with Roy Scheider is probably his most forgotten gem, a slick thriller with nice performances, especially John Glover. Get this thing on DVD now!

SWING SHIFT was taken away from Demme and isn't very substantial, though in its evocation of Wartime fashions and kitsch, it's very much of a piece with his other work. Not Kurt's finest hair, however.

SOMETHING WILD is another of his great films, veering nicely from comedy to all-out thriller when Ray Liotta hijacks the movie midway through. MARRIED TO THE MOB is a TAD on the campy side, and I can never condone Matthew Modine as a lead, but it has its funny moments.

Since SILENCE, Demme's rep has gone downhill a notch, as he's gone from semi-auteur to studio prestige man, with the much-maligned Oscar Bait Dramas PHILADELPHIA and BELOVED. Yes, the former does try too hard to be an AIDS film for everyone, to make Tom Hanks likeable, but it's a terrific court thriller with nice performances from everyone, and nice moments for all the characters. BELOVED IS an etched in granite SERIOUS FILM, but I recall actually liking it. Of course, I'll never see it again, so I don't remember why.

And again, TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE is a fascinating mess, and MANCHURIAN is a strong, tense remake with a particularly Demmian first half. For those who've seen it, the opening stage-setting scenes during Desert Storm are brilliant filmmaking -- the soundtrack, the cutting, the all-business credits. He pretty much blows the last act, and allows too much Streepian buffoonery, but I thought it was a strong comeback for a fascinating director.

Not to even mention that between all these films, he continues to work as a documentarian, having made STOP MAKING SENSE, SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA, COUSIN BOBBY, and THE AGRONOMIST.

Feel free to discuss Jonathan Demme, or anything about him or his films. Or don't.

[jlproffitt]

Silence of the Lambs - by a mile...category all its own

Stop Making Sense - same as it ever was...same as it ever waaaaaas
Something Wild - fond memories

[Dilmo]

I find it hard for actors to be in his films. He almost pushes the camera right into the face of the actor. Sometimes that is too obvious, but then again, sometime it is called for. Just stop doing re-makes!

[Bantam]

I agree - Silence of the Lambs for sure.

[immortalem]

Silence of the Lambs-hands down is the best

[Slanter]

Silence is the queen mother of all serial killer movies. Sprinkled with some of the best suspense ever shot.