What's the AFI Project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here:http://www.spout.com/blogs/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25756.aspx
Out of Africa is on the following AFI lists:
100 Years...100 Passions (#13)
25 Film Scores (#15)
This film also represents the third of nine Oscar-nominated dramas topping my Netflix queue, just in case you were keeping track.
Out of Africa is one of those movies that I've heard about ever since its release in the mid-80s but never paid much attention to; after all, I was a child at the time and much more mesmerized by contemporary films like Back to the Future. Still, as I've gained years of age, I've also gained a growing appreciation for one of my favorite actresses, Meryl Streep, and I've made it something of a mission to cover more of her filmography. Thus, when Netflix was making its convenient recommendations to me, I popped Out of Africa on my queue.
As it turns out, Out of Africa is based on the writings and short stories of Danish author Isak Dinesen, the pen name of Karen Blixen-Flecke. The film begins in the early 20th century, as Karen proposes to her friend, Baron Bor Blixen-Flecke (Klaus Maria Brandauer), that they tie the knot absent other better offers. Bor agrees but cautions that he has plans to purchase a plantation in Africa. Karen marries him with this understanding, and the two set out for Nairobi; however, upon arrival, Bor immediately leaves Karen for alleged business only to return to his womanizing ways, while Karen finds herself the governess of a plantation for coffee that cannot feasibly be grown in the arid African air. She spends her days teaching the local villagers employed (enslaved?) on her plantation in a school she sets up for them and hosting visitors, including a charming and educated hunter named Denys Finch-Hatton (Robert Redford, who is supposed to be British). The pair's natural chemistry simmers into love, but Denys wants a no-strings, open relationship. While Karen is typically independent and self-sufficient, she also finds that she has become unhappily dedicated to an aloof man who feels deeply but places a higher priority on his freedom to come and go. Karen must, thus, decide how to handle this relationship, lest she lose Denys completely.
Directed by Sydney Pollack, Out of Africa is a visually striking and beautiful film. The cinematography and photography (which won one of seven Oscars), best appreciated in a widescreen presentation, is truly captivating, using the natural wilderness as a springboard for creating a romance of epic quality. In fact, this is one of the three most winning qualities of this film: the fact that it's simply beautiful to see, and that Pollack and company capitalized on the sunny climate and on-location extras, such as lions, to truly drive home the strangeness and surreality of Karen's particular situation.
The second winning quality is the beautiful score by John Barry, which the AFI saw fit to rank as one the 25 best American film scores in history. The rich and epic string-heavy themes are noticeable from the first frames and the first notes; it's one of those scores that could stand on its own, played by a large symphony as a purely instrumental presentation, but also delicately dramatizes the unfolding romance.
The final winning quality is the performance of Meryl Streep who, let's face it, has the ability to make any film better for having her in it. She's given so many otherworldly performances, and the reason Out of Africa is half as likeable as it is comes down to Meryl's uncanny and unmatched ability to completely become her character. Given everything from her consistent and realistic Danish accent to her facial instructions depicting a strong and principled woman who finds herself emotionally susceptible to an unpredictable romance, it's hard to argue that she's given a better performance (or, perhaps, all of her performances are simply great). Without her, Out of Africa would simply have become a long, boring film with no heart, soul, or feeling.
Of course, conversely, Out of Africa was still largely a long, boring movie. For all of its winning qualities, it also has some elements which truly detracted from the film and prevented me from loving it. The sheer protracted nature of the story is its primary stumbling point; at nearly three hours' length, painstakingly recreating Dinesen's memoirs translated into a plodding biographical film. While I typically find myself a proponent of an accurate adaptation, this film would probably have benefitted from some artistic editing because Karen's story is not sympathetic unless completely zeroed in on the tensions between her real-life husband and her real-life paramour. The occasional diversions into Karen's life, while designed to create sympathy for what becomes an adulterous love affair, served to drag out the film and were not necessarily engaging, which, in turn, made the actual romance of the film less engaging.
The second element that made Out of Africa awkwardly less than adored was the casting of Robert Redford. He's an amazing actor, and he had some chemistry with Streep, no doubt attributable to an off-set friendship that provided a certain level of ease and comfort between the two leads. Unfortunately, his presence almost always felt out-of-place. Also, the character he was playing was supposed to be British, and while the page notes that criticism of the film centered on the fact that Redford was - and played - too American, it's not an unfounded criticism. His cowboy-like demeanor, reminiscient of his performance in The Electric Horseman, didn't seem to fit the rest of the picture. Also, the actual chemistry was limited at best; the AFI rated this film high on its love stories list, but, for me, it left something to be desired because I did not necessarily believe the romance between Karen and Denys and never actually cared about it, at least not until the surprise ending, and then, the concern came more from tragedy than from any attachment to the romance.
All in all, Out of Africa was a decent film; it won many Oscars, was beautifully shot, and was a great performance showcase for Meryl Streep, but it was not the most entertaining film. Interestingly, the other four nominees for Best Picture in 1985 were The Color Purple, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Prizzi's Honor, and Witness, so 1985 was quite a year, and I've seen two of those other films and enjoyed them more than this one. I suppose that's neither here nor there, but, as a result, I find myself wanting to rate Out of Africa a 7 for being shaky but entertaining, and the entertaining quality I'm ascribing solely to Meryl Streep. If someone less apt had been in the role, this film would have been an epic disaster in my mind, beautiful photography or no. As to the test, I can safely say it does not pass, for the simple fact that it took me a couple of tries to get through it a first time. If you enjoy a protracted, smoldering love story with few distractions in the historical backdrop, Out of Africa is for you. As for me, again, I find myself thinking that films like Gone with the Wind or even Doctor Zhivago are better films, have more interesting background stories, and set the standard higher and first, which Out of Africa did not quite meet.