Music Box (1989)

[Idioteck]

Costa-Gavras usually prefers a decidedly international flavor when it comes to his politically-charged dramas. In 1969 his visionary film Z took the Academy Awards by storm and made a name for the director.

More than ten years after this bombastic debut, the Greek-born Costa-Gavras came back to prominence with the outstanding Jack Lemmon/Sissy Spacek film Missing, which like Z, chronicles a politically-charged Military situation, this time in an unnamed South American country. Missing stands the test of time thanks to the unusually bold performances by Lemmon as a Christian Scientist looking for his son and Spacek as his free-spirited daughter-in-law.

The last time Costa-Gavras got the Academy's notice was when he teamed with Jessica Lange in 1989 to bring us Music Box, an icy, compelling courtroom drama that deals with a host of politically-charged themes. Oh, and don't let the fact that Joe Esterhas wrote this turn you off, it's not exactly Showgirls.

Lange plays Ann Talbot, a wealthy Chicago criminal attorney with a seemingly idyllic existence, perfect child and perfect career. She is very big on family. She is devoted to her father, a hard-working immigrant from Hungary (played wonderfully by Armin Mueller Stahl) who raised Ann and her brother alone after her mother died. The opening sequence shows the viewer the importance of the family's roots, detailing a Hungarian dance and dinner.

A letter arrives accusing Ann's father of committing war crimes in Hungary, which throws the family's world into tumult. Before long, Ann is signing on as her father's attorney, defending her father in court against Frederic Forrest's sleazy opposing counsel.

The trial unfolds with the predictability you might expect, but it is nonetheless compelling to watch. Lange and Forrest seem to really enjoy their verbal sparring.

Lange as a lawyer? She's actually very good. This is one of her quietest performances to date, there are a couple of patented "Lange freak-outs" but for the most part, she plays it really insightfully, reined in by the subject matter and the film's tone. Her scenes in Budapest are wonderful as she discovers the real story behind her father. The pacing in her characterization is also wonderful. Her initial icy veneer is shattered by the end and her resolve may be strengthened but she changes, and Lange is able to convey this accurately through her intelligence and timing. Her final scenes with Mueller Stahl are electric.

I wouldn't say this film breaks any molds, but is entertaining and even intriguing thanks to the dynamic lead performance. Lange got an Oscar nomination for her work, which has always puzzled me, as this is her least showy performance. Revisiting the film last night has really helped me understand the allure of her work here. It is a really nice change of pace for the frenetic actress who usually specializes in the mentally unstable or the naive farm wife. It's nice to see her playing a sophisticated, educated woman for a change, if not a little jarring

Lange makes my short-list of nominees for the year 1989 as a nominee, but the actual award belongs to Isabelle Adjani...

Isabelle Adjani ... Camille Claudel *
Annette Bening ... Valmont
Jessica Lange ... Music Box
Michelle Pfeiffer ... Fabulous Baker Boys
Kathleen Turner ... War Of The Roses

MATT