Natasha Richardson’s tragic death this past week was utterly devastating even to those who did not know her personally. I am heartbroken by it because she wasn’t just a great actress, but a great human being on top. Natasha’s death also serves as an unfortunate reminder of how we can be very healthy one minute, and then we can be dead the next. What happened to her could have happened to any of us, and it shines a light on how fragile our existence is. We still take that for granted after all these years.
Rather than do a big retrospective of her career, I wanted to look back at one of her very best performances on film. She has given a lot of great performances, but this one in particular sticks out in my mind…
I have always been fascinated by the story of Patty Hearst, of how she was kidnapped by the SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army) in an effort to get some of their comrades released from jail. How she later joined the SLA in their fight against what they perceived as a fascist police state. When I first heard about this event, probably around the same time the movie was released, I couldn’t help but wonder; How can someone who was kidnapped by people with guns suddenly join her captors? Can someone be changed into a completely different person? Today, I wonder if makes sense that we should prosecute someone for crimes they committed after being brainwashed and sexually abused by their captors. It’s such a strange story, one ripe to be made into a movie. Thank goodness the story of her ordeal ended up in the hands of Paul Schrader, the famed screenwriter of “Taxi Driver.”
Is the movie “Patty Hearst” factually true to what happened to her in real life? I don’t know, and frankly I don’t care. Movies based on a true story almost always have moments that are fictionalized or changed for dramatic effect. It is too easy to brand movies like this as “a lie” or “factually incorrect” to what actually happened. Movies cannot play a real story out the same way it did in real life because there has to be a structured story in place that takes you from point A to point B. In the end, the filmmakers need to be respectful of the facts, but they can’t just do it the same exact way it all happened. Besides, people will accuse the filmmakers of being too faithful to the original material. That makes it all kind of a no win situation. People making these kinds of movies are going to get attacked one way or the other.
Yes, “Patty Hearst” is based on a true story, but this movie was made back in 1988, and that was back when the term “based on a true story’ actually meant something. It made this particular movie all the more exciting to see.
The movie stars Natasha Richardson (in her breakthrough performance) as the title character, and the movie starts with her walking around the campus of UC Berkeley, giving us our first glimpse of her as a person. In a voiceover, Natasha takes the first opportunity of many to break down preconceptions that we may have of Patricia Campbell Hearst. Patty comes from the well known Hearst family, and she is the granddaughter of the famous publisher William Randolph Hearst. But she makes it clear from the start that she was never spoiled and that she had a happy, normal childhood. These opening moments make it clear there was nothing that could have prepared her for what would eventually happen to her.
What makes the movie so effective is the way Schrader manages to tell the whole movie almost entirely from Patty’s point of view. We end up experiencing what she goes through as she is thrown into the trunk of a car and driven off to a place where she is imprisoned in a tiny closet. Spending most of her time in this claustrophobic space, she becomes completely disoriented. Throughout this time, she is met upon by soldiers of the SLA who shout their beliefs at her making her believe that she is the enemy. These moments are presented with the actors acting in front of a blindingly white backdrop which gives us a strong feeling of displacement as even we don’t know where we are. What keeps Patty going through this is her gnawing fear of being buried alive, and of her need to survive.
The fact that she ends up joining the SLA in their “revolutionary” fight makes sense. Having been cut off from those she loves and being exposed to a whole other set of people and ideas, what choice could she have had. The way this is presented to us, it’s not like she had much of a chance to escape. In the end, the SLA is basically a cult, and like all effective cults, they broke down Patty’s spirit until there was seemingly nothing left. Everything from her life up to that point was made to seem false, and she had no way of believing otherwise. Her captors offer her a choice of joining them, or to go home. But by going home, Patty interprets that as being killed or even worse, being buried alive.
From there, the movie shows Patty Hearst going from terrified hostage to being a soldier for the SLA. The moment where her blindfold is removed, and she is finally given a chance to look at her captors is actually a beautiful moment, as it is made to seem that Patty is now surrounded by people who are more loving than they are threatening. It is also a relief for the audience in that we too are now out of that claustrophobic closet with our eyes open. We are along with Patty as she grows more accustomed to these people and in what they believe until she is captured and brought to trial for her part in the SLA.
What really powers the movie of “Patty Hearst” from the get go is the performance of Natasha Richardson which is remarkable. Natasha takes Patty from being a helpless and frightened hostage to a believer, and then takes her to being a martyr where she is broken down again, but is later given a chance to really build herself back up again. In spite of all the media coverage that this case was given when it exploded in the 70’s, Natasha gives us a Patricia Hearst seen as a person with a heart, and not just as a blip on the popular culture landscape. Throughout her time in the SLA’s company, Natasha speaks at times in voiceover showing how there is still a part of her holding on to whatever she has left of her old life. She nails every emotional moment of her character’s evolution truthfully, and she is utterly fascinating to watch throughout the movie’s running time. In the movie’s final shot, it is just her face we see as she seems at peace with herself, and of what she needs to do to show the world the truth of about her.
In addition to Natasha’s great performance, she is surrounded by some remarkable character actors who have become better known long after this movie’s release. The most surprising one to find here is Ving Rhames in a pre-“Pulp Fiction” performance as Cinque, the leader of the SLA. Ving makes Cinque an intimidating force that you believe can hold all his followers at bay with even a little bit of effort. In effect, Cinque is the glue that holds the SLA together.
Also in the movie is William Forsythe, a terrific character actor who continues to appear in every other movie made today. William plays Teko, a most faithful follower of the SLA who tries to hold the movement together when its leadership suddenly falls apart. Frances Fisher, who later went on to appear in “Unforgiven” and “Titanic” among other movies, plays Yolanda who ends up in a power struggle with Teko over the direction in which the SLA would take when Cinque is gone. Through these two performances, we see how easily a group can quickly disintegrate when there is no real leader to keep them focused and together as a whole.
One of my really favorite performances in this movie comes from Dana Delany, who has since gone on to star in shows like “China Beach” and “Desperate Housewives.” Dana’s role as Gelina is a lovely delight in the face of the intensity exhibited by the other SLA members. Gelina’s thinking is clearly warped beyond repair, but she presents Patty Hearst with the only real kindness she gets during her captivity. As Gelina, she gives us a character as giddy as she is dangerous to those around her.
Another great performance to be found in “Patty Hearst” is from Jodi Long who plays Wendy Yoshimura, an SLA member who becomes disillusioned with the movement of what they are all trying to accomplish. Seeing the damage that has been done, she is now more prepared to give up rather than face a pointless fire fight with the “pigs.” I really liked Jodi’s take on the character, and she gives a strong woman who does not bend easily to threats made against her.
“Patty Hearst” also features one of the most unique film scores I have ever heard, and it is composed by Scott Johnson. It is a mixture of both electronic elements and woodwind instruments, and helps Schrader in creating a disorienting environment which we and Patty are forced to survive in. I cannot think of another movie score that I can compare this one to. It also turned out to be Scott Johnson’s first and only movie score ever. This soundtrack has been unavailable for years, but it was finally re-released on CD in 2007, almost 20 years after the movie’s release through Tzadik Records.
This material is perfect ground for Paul Schrader to cover as a director, let alone as a writer. From Robert DeNiro in “Taxi Driver” to George C. Scott in “Hardcore” and to Nick Nolte in Affliction, Schrader is endlessly fascinated by individuals who are so alienated from the world around that they have long since descended into madness. Patricia Hearst, as Schrader shows her here, does not become alienated from the world by choice, but by force and her dire circumstances of joining a movement she has no business being in or die. We never get to see the world outside of Patty’s point of view, so when she is brought back into reality, we are made to feel as bad as she does when she is made into a martyr in the eyes of the public.
The movie got a mixed reaction when it was originally released in the late 80’s. From watching the movie’s trailer, I imagine that moviegoers may have been expecting something more action packed. In some ways, the subject matter may appear more interesting from the outside. What “Patty Hearst” really is though is a character study, and an endlessly fascinating one for me. Whereas some may find this movie dull, I loved how it got into the inner workings of the SLA, and it made sense of how someone could be forced to join a group that they never would have become a member of in a sane state of mind. How you view this movie may very well depend on what you are expecting from it. Patty’s ordeal still remains fresh in my mind for a long period after I have finished watching it.
I really liked what Paul Schrader with the story and characters of “Patty Hearst.” Had this story been in the hands of another director, it may have come across as more exploitive than anything else. But Schrader has far more on his mind than playing on the titillating facts of this case. Throughout the movie, he explores the evolution of a woman who goes from a victim to a participant to a pariah, and he gets beneath the skin of his subject in a way that many others were unable or unwilling to do. Unlike Schrader’s other movies though, this one has a ray of hope at the end in that things will get better for Patty. Indeed, she has since gone on to appear in many of John Waters’ movies, and she was finally given a presidential pardon by Bill Clinton just before he left office in 2001.
But what brings this movie all together in the end is the mesmerizing performance of Natasha Richardson. With her entrancing beauty and natural talent, she makes us want to follow Patricia Hearst to the end of her journey. Whether we agree with Patty did or not, we empathize with her character, and we are forced to look at ourselves and wonder what we would have done in similar circumstances. She was so great to watch in this movie, and she makes me want to watch it again and again. Some actors would have just gone for the emotion of the moment, but Natasha always goes for the heart of every scene she is in.
That we lost her at the age of 45 is utterly depressing, and it is still taking a lot of time for us to fully process what happened. She leaves behind us a great volume of work that deserved to be even greater than it was. We will miss you very much Natasha.
**** out of ****
