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Before Night Falls 2000 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Julian Schnabel
R, 133 min. (strong sexuality, profanity, mild violence) |
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Starring: Javier Bardem, Olivier Martinez, Andrea Di Stefano, Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, Michael Wincott
Producer: Jon Kilik
Screenplay: Cunningham O'Keefe, Lazaro Gomez Carriles, Julian Schnabel
Cinematography: Xavier Pérez Grobet, Guillermo Rosas
Distributor: Fine Line Features
Released: 12.22.00 (Limited) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
Before Night Falls, the story of a gifted Cuban writer during the Castro revolution, is a film that is divided by two parts. One,
the fine acting performance by Javier Bardem, and two, an average story that seems to lose its way towards the end of the
film. I would be the first to say that Bardem's performance was worthy of an Oscar nomination, but it's not enough to turn
a somewhat mediocre story into a winner. Overall, the film is worthy of a look, but not much more.
The story encompasses the life of Reinaldo Arenas, a young Cuban writer who finds himself in the middle of not just a
military revolution, but also a revolution over ideas, art, and free speech. Although he is portrayed as a homosexual, you
get the feeling that he embraces this lifestyle more as a rebellious act against the system than one of true identity for
himself. Arenas grows up in a disjointed family - they move around and only his mother looks out for him. When he is old
enough, he joins the counter-revolution and begins his quest to become a writer. His talents are immediately spotted by
university professors, and they do their best to help him smuggle his material out of the country, where it can be published.
Of course, the new government learns of this and jails him for several years. There, he finishes his life's best work, a piece
on freedom for all in his country. Once he escapes Cuba and lives in New York, the story goes a bit south (he develops AIDS)
- it seems jagged and out of place with the rest of the film, but I guess that's debatable.
Javier Bardem's strong performance as Arenas is a joy to watch. He emphasizes only the parts of the character that need
emphasizing, and the rest is portrayed as a normal man from Cuba who enjoys the company of others and his writing. He loves
life, although you rarely see a glimpse of it from him. Most of all, his time in prison is grippingly portrayed and is the film's
finest moment. This was a difficult film to locate in theaters, so the Academy's nomination of him is an impressive act of
courage on their part.
Although I can't heartily recommend this film to everyone - there are some real weaknesses in the plot - Before Night Falls
does offer a glimpse into what life was like for many suppressed victims of the Cuban revolution under Fidel Castro. The two
cameos by Sean Penn (which is only about two minutes long) and Johnny Depp (in a dual role) are amusing, but they don't do
much to enhance the film, which makes their appearance in it insignificant. This film was extremely popular at various film
festivals last year, but I'm not quite as exuberant as some of those reviewers. I guess the film's strengths outweigh its
weaknesses, but not by much.
© 2001 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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