Film Review
Finian's Rainbow is one of the
more surprising entries in Francis Ford Coppola's (admittedly very
diverse) filmography. You'd hardly think that such a frothy confection
as this could possible come from the same directorial stable as
The Godfather (1972) and
Apocalypse Now (1979).
Based on a popular musical that was first
performed on Broadway in 1947, the film combines children's
fairytale and some pretty meaty political satire, with mixed
results. The obvious mismatch between studio and real locations
accentuates the disjointed feel of the film and the impression you get
is that Coppola couldn't quite decide between realism or artifice, so
he went for both. It is not a mistake he would ever repeat..
One of the main attractions of this film is its inspired choice of lead
actors. Fred Astaire was 68 when he starred in the film, and whilst he
looks his age he still manages to bring a heart-warming charm and
vigour to his performance. If the film has a fault it is
that there is too little Fred Astaire and (far) too much Tommy Steele,
although if pantomime-style acting is your thing Steele certainly
delivers the goods. Petula Clark is perhaps the film's main
delight - the camera loves her and she has the best tunes (or maybe she
just makes her tunes appear the best).
It may not be as slick or as extravagant as earlier Hollywood musicals,
but
Finian's Rainbow is an
enjoyable flight of fancy with some great numbers, even if some of the
lyrics appear to sponsored by the cheese manufacturing industry.
Racial discrimination is no longer the burning issue that it was in the
late 1960s and so the film has lost some of its satirical edge. Still, the
idea of a nasty white supremacist senator being transformed into a cool black man
with rhythm can hardly fail to raise a laugh.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Francis Ford Coppola film:
The Godfather (1972)
Film Synopsis
Finian McLonergan absconds from his native Ireland with a stolen crock
of gold, accompanied by his daughter Sharon. He arrives in Rainbow
Valley, USA, believing that if he buries the crock near to Fort Knox he
will become a wealthy man. Determined to thwart his scheme is Og,
a leprechaun who will turn into a human being unless he can recover the
crock, which has the power to grant three wishes. As Finian tries
to fend off Og, Sharon falls for the charms of a man named Woody
Mahoney, who also hopes to make his fortune, by inventing a
mint-flavoured tobacco. When he learns that there is gold
in Rainbow Valley, Senator Rawkins decides to evict the local
residents. Disgusted by the Senator's racist language, Sharon
wishes that he would turn black so that he could see a black person's
point of view. Her wish is granted...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.