Viggo

Watched a movie this week, the 2008 English-German production of something titled Good. It stars Viggo Mortensen as a university literature professor in Berlin, the late 1930s. Nothing specific about that picture, but…

Those of us who enjoy watching movies have personal favorites among the top (or otherwise) faces that turn up with some frequency. In most cases it probably has little to do with reputation, awards or star power, but more to do with a particular look or personality that strikes a chord. Sometimes the lavish praise and accolades heaped upon a certain film actor leave one completely unmoved. Just don’t care in some cases, despite the winning of awards and starring in big films.

Viggo Mortensen has received a slew of nominations for his work in movies, and on a few occasions has come out the winner. But his being recognized for the ‘Best’ this or that doesn’t play any part in the fact that I always enjoy a movie he appears in. May not be the best story, maybe not too gripping, but considering the fifteen or more movies I have seen in which he played a part, there is always something about the actor’s persona that holds my attention. I am never reluctant to buy a ticket when Viggo Mortensen is in the cast.

He was born to a Danish father and American mother in Manhattan in 1958. He lived for several years of his childhood in South America where his father was a ranch manager. After graduation from university he moved for several years to Denmark and began writing poetry. In 1982 he returned to New York and began taking acting lessons. He landed a small part in the 1985 Harrison Ford picture, Witness and that work drew him to Los Angeles where he began to work with some regularity.

No doubt most remember the actor for his role of Aragon in the popular The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and reading his film biography those movies are treated as a watershed in his career. That all happened between 2001 and 2003 but he did some interesting work before that in Carlitto’s Way (1993), Crimson Tide (’95), G.I. Jane (’97) in which he and Demi Moore had a terrific down and dirty physical fight scene. One of my favorites was the ’98 A Perfect Murder, a remake of the earlier Hitchcock film, Dial M for Murder. He followed the three Lord of the Rings movies with Hidalgo, a thoroughly entertaining horse race movie, then A History of Violence and in 2007 Eastern Promises which drew some critical acclaim for his performance, including an Academy Award nomination.

Aside from his acting career, Mortensen is the owner of publishing company, Perceval Press and continues to write poetry in his spare time. As a jazz musician he has released three CDs, and has had exhibitions of his photography in New York galleries. In A Perfect Murder, playing the part of a painter, the large murals hanging in his studio were all his own work. An accomplished horseman, he did all his own stunt riding in both The Lord of the Rings and Hidalgo, and after the completion of each film bought the horses he had ridden during the filming. Mortensen speaks Spanish, Danish and French fluently, and says that he can handle Swedish and Norwegian with some degree of fluency. In 2010 he was knighted by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

“Be kind. It’s worthwhile to make an effort to learn about other people and figure out what you might have in common with them.” —Viggo Mortensen

Jenkins & Co.

As things often do, a 2007 film by writer-director Tamara Jenkins got past me when it was first released. But as I discovered, The Savages was another of those casual picks from the library shelves that turned out to be pure gold. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and garnered two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Actress (Laura Linney) and another for Best Original Screenplay (Jenkins). Philip Seymour Hoffman won four different best actor awards for his performance and in the opinion of many Philip Bosco’s performance is equally celebrated. The Savages is one of those movies that will last as an example of high-quality filmmaking.

Hoffman and Linney play a not particularly close brother and sister faced with the problem of an abusive father whom neither has seen for twenty years but who suddenly requires their care. Suffering from dementia and forced out of his home, the problem of what to do with him is dropped suddenly into the already troubled lives of his two children, Jon (Hoffman) and Wendy (Linney).

The screenplay has all the qualities we look for in good movies: humor, heartbreak, the offbeat and a large dose of very fine writing. Combine that screenplay with intelligent direction and three masterful performances from Hoffman, Linney and Philip Bosco and you have good reason why The Savages appeared on fifteen Top 10 lists the year it was released.

The movie is not strictly about the problems of aging—though Jenkins treats us to some ugly moments of that condition. The opening scenes in an Arizona retirement community painted in pastels and sunshine and running on golf carts and Lawrence Welk are wonderful, offering a perfect contrast to later scenes in a snow blanketed second-rate nursing home in Buffalo. But the writer-director is more interested in how caring for an abusive and demented father affects a dysfunctional brother and sister and how unforeseen responsibilities alter the jealousies and distrust that have been their history.

Several scenes in The Savages could be used as how-to lessons in film school but two in particular deserve mention. Brother and sister attempt one of those ‘caring for the elderly’ classes but arrive late and draw the immediate attention of a bossy ‘teacher’ who without missing a beat embarrasses the two mercilessly. As they stand in the back unsure what to do, nibbling cookies from a tray, the teacher informs them in a loud voice that refreshments are not being served yet. In a brilliant touch they sheepishly replace their half-eaten cookies on the tray.

In a later near-violent scene in the car brother and sister scream and berate each other. Foreseeing no end to the clamor and not really concerned, the father turns off his hearing aid and pulls the hood of his coat over his head. Another master touch.

There is so much that is good in this movie, had it not been so late I would have played it a second time. That will have to wait for another day. As for the actors, Philip Seymour Hoffman is proving himself to be one of the best of his generation. As for Laura Linney, she and Hoffman work together like saw and hammer. Her performance in this movie brought only her third Academy Award nomination. And Philip Bosco? Another beautifully shaded and subtle performance from a long proven actor.

Granted The Savages is a dark story but it has something for us all in its examination of aging, pride, jealousy, cynicism and ultimately the workings of that ancient dynamic, family. However you manage your movie viewing, put this one on your playlist.