Jack Pollock Movie Review - Essay Example

A Review of Pollock Ed Harris stars and directs in Pollock, a project that took him ten years to complete. It is easy to see that this was a real labor of love for Harris; he puts his heart and soul into the movie, even going so far as to gain thirty pounds and grow a beard to portray Pollock in his later years. He is definitely the driving force and reason that this movie succeeds in its portrayal of the dark genius that was Jackson Pollock. After a brief introduction with Pollock on the edge of widespread fame and receiving a phone call from Time magazine, the film flashes back to Pollock in New York living with his brother in a cramped apartment.

Occasionally showing a few pieces, Pollock is small beans at this point as he has yet to develop the drip canvas style for which is famous. It also shows Pollock’s trouble with alcohol beginning. It then moves on to Pollock meeting Lee Asner, who would champion his work and could be viewed as the major factor behind his success. Much of the film follows their tumultuous relationship as she recognizes his potential, attempts to help him with his alcohol dependency, and champions his work to people that were able to make him the internationally known artist that he became.

The movie unflinchingly shows the darker aspects of Pollock. Never really fully dealing with his alcohol problem, Pollock could be eccentric, manic, and abusive. The movie can seem very loud and overwhelming at times as there were constant fights between Pollock and Asner, but it does take its time on several quiet, contemplative scenes that bring a nice balance to the film. Thankfully, the movie portrays Pollock’s alcoholism as a hindrance to his work. Often times in movies or books, artistic types are portrayed as being creative while they are intoxicated on their substance of choice.

Often this can lead people to think that it is necessary to abuse substances in order to be creative, which is rarely the case. It is good to see a film that consciously attempts to realistically show how detrimental alcohol can be to artistic endeavors. There are many aspects of the art world that the film portrays without feeling like an art history lesson. For instance, it portrays an artists need for social connections in order to “make it” in the art world. Also, near the end after Pollock has become a celebrated artist for his innovative style, it portrays how limited Pollock turned out to be as an artist; many artists have different periods, different styles with which they experiment with throughout their careers.

Pollock, however, was unable to produce anything new after his drip canvas style, and this could have been one of the many factors that led Pollock to possibly commit suicide in the car accident that ended his life and is used to end the movie. The only thing that the film could have possibly portrayed better was the genesis for his drip canvas style of painting. The surrealists were a big influence upon his style, along with many other styles, genres, and people, but the film breezes through this aspect of Pollock’s artistry rather quickly.

Of course, influence is probably a rather difficult thing to portray on screen, and they might not have seemed as dramatic to audiences as the fight scenes between Pollock and Asner. Though the movie can be difficult to watch at times, it is overall a rewarding experience. The film was recognized accordingly, and should be of interest to not only fans of the painter but to anyone with an appreciation for good film making.