Monkey Shines: (Films of George A. Romero)
2000; Issue: 53 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2562-2528
Autores Tópico(s)Modern American Literature Studies
ResumoThe cinema of George A. Romero is popularity associated with gore, special effects, and zombies. Although the living dead trilogy brought the director world renown, it also trapped him in a one-dimensional interpretive framework. Despite the dubious acclaim of father of the modern American (splatter) horror film, George Romero's films are more complex in nature. They often involve the roles of individuals who either actively deny what occurs before their very eyes or uncomfortably comply with whatever form the dominant social ideology takes at the particular time. Denial is often a key feature in Romero's cinema and Monkey Shines emphasizes this feature, one often ignored by those audience members seeking only the dubious pleasures of special effects. When in college Romero read Henry James's Turn of the Screw, a novella he has always wanted to adapt. Although a vast gulf serarates these two authors, a key element in Romero's cinema also involves those dangerous Jamesian features of self-denial, a battle between fantasy and reality, and the necessity for characters to perceive correctly the real-life life dilemmas which threaten them--ones they have often caused themselves. By denying his audiences the escapist avenues of distracting special effects in Monkey Shines, Romero sought to explore the above features. Despite initial critical confustion and audience disappointment, the film is still a key achievement for the director as well as a classic contribution to those still highly relevant social and ideological roots conditioning the manifestation of the horror genre itself. Partly due to financial and industrial problems resulting in compromises affecting the final version of Day of the Dead, George Romero officially ended his involvement with Laurel Entertainment.(1) He now wished freedom to pursue other projects. Although Romero maintained his base in Pittsburgh, he still hoped for that optimistic union between his mode of independent filmmaking and Hollywood industrial support. Monkey Shines is the product of this ideal. Financed by a major studio (Orion) but shot in Pittsburgh with the involvement of as many of his creative team possible, the film also represents his first major literary adaptation. Michael Stewart's original novel was set in Oxford, England. But Romero transfers the setting to Pittsburgh. The film appears to represent a radical change for the director both stylistically and thematically. On a first viewing, it initially appears to be the unfortunate product of compromise. Monkey Shines seems to lack the type of visual style and thematic concerns present in Romero's other films. During pre- and post- production phases, Romero experienced several examples of creative frustration. Despite Christine Forrest's abilities as an actress, the studio insisted that she test for the role of Nurse Maryanne Hodges before they would accept her. Also, after previews, Orion added a last-minute gratuitous shock ending combining the already shopworn audience scare tactics seen in Carrie (1976) and Alien (1979) which jarred with the director's type of more subtle climax. The studio also insisted on a traditional happy ending to replace Romero's more ambiguous and ironic conclusion. Naturally, Monkey Shines did not attract the same degree of critical and popular acclaim surrounding other Romero films on their first release. With these factors in mind, it would be natural to dismiss Monkey Shines as one of Romero's failed works deserving little attention. However, although Monkey Shines fails to reach the creative levels of Night, The Crazies, Dawn, and Day, it is by no means a total failure. Despite the compromises affecting its production, the film has several points of interest both in terms of the cultural concepts influencing Romero as well as parallels to his authorship concerns elsewhere. In many ways, Monkey Shines resembles There's Always Vanilla as a compromised work. While the latter film represented the Latent Image's attempt to go Hollywood, it also exhibited many traces of the director's future concerns. …
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