The Set Up (1949)Overview: Director Robert Wise presents impeccable cinematography with The Set-Up. The film was released in 1949 in the post-war time. Film noir was an art of its own, but with skillfully added direction and acting, the inspired adaptation comes to life. "The film is based on a poem by Joseph Moncure March". The poem originally features a black man in the role of Stoker “but we didn’t have any African American actor/stars at that time”, says Wise, according to Martin Scorsese's commentary. Wise delivers a bold tale that allows the viewers to resonate with the struggles, efforts, and hopes of the protagonist, Bill Stoker. The role of Bill Stoker was played by Robert Ryan. The ability for the audience to sympathize with the character of Bill Stoker was undoubtedly credited to Ryan's acting. "It's all in the eyes," Robert Ryan once said of film acting. "That's where you do most of your work." (Lonelyheart, mubi.com) Robert Ryan was compared to Burt Lancaster, hero from The Killers, 1946. "Take a close look at Ryan in The Set-Up ... and you'll get a sense of the relative frailty and delicacy of most male movie stars. In the post-war era, only Burt Lancaster was as physically imposing...Ryan never looked as coordinated as Lancaster", according to Kent Jones, author of the article Lonelyheart. Summary: "1949’s The Set-Up is a lean, hard-hitting tale of a boxer past his prime, but while that concise premise feels familiar the film takes an interesting and ultimately more powerful direction by the time the end credits roll." (according to Scorsese's commentary on filmschoolrejects.com) Bill Stoker and his lovely and faithful wife Julie, played by Audrey Totter, stay in a hotel near the boxing arena of their city for the night that Stoker has a fight. Julie is exceptionally concerned for her husband's wellbeing, and rightfully so, as he strives to take on a young, 23-year-old boxing champion by the name of Tiger Nelson. Bill, at the age of 35 years, lacks the basic agility, strength, and speed that is required of a boxer. Regardless of what anyone thinks, Stoker feels pretty good about himself. He believes that he can take out his opponent with just one good punch to the head. His wife, however, tries to remind him of his age and says that he is considered an "old man" when it comes to this sport, and that he should retire while he can. He keeps her feelings inconsideration and seems respectful of her concerns. He goes to the boxing arena and prepares for his exciting and nervous fight with Nelson. Stoker learns that his manager, Tiny, played by George Tobias, makes a unfair deal with the opponents manager in anticipations that Stoker would not win the match anyway. When Tiny notices that in the third round, Stoker is still up and not losing, he asks Stoker to throw away the fight and let the opponent win so that the opposition party would uphold their end of the deal, earning everyone a fair deal of money. But, for Stoker, it was not entirely about the money, it seemed as if he wanted to win this one last fight before retiring, as shown from his excellent perseverance. To add, it seems that when he learns of his managers trade with the opponent, Stoker finds himself to muster up some more energy, determination, and motivation to really give a good show to the audience. He gets up and makes the fourth and final round a complete turn, landing him his win. He proves the audience wrong, which he needed to boost his self-esteem and image anyway. In the beginning of the fight, there are some condescending remarks to Stoker regarding his age and ability. The unfortunate part was his managers lack or belief in his, therefore the gambling. It seems that the opponents gambling party were some sorts of gangsters. One in particular was named Little Boy, played by Alan Baxter. Little Boy comes into the locker room after Stoker's victory and says to him "I did not get what I paid for...Get dressed and come outside." This alerts Stoker of what will possibly happen, so he runs trying to escape the gangsters, but they find him in the alley outside the stadium and "beat him to a pulp, destroying his right hand in the process with a brick." (Scorsese's commentary). With having his hand severely damaged, his role as a future boxer comes to a hapless ending. Julie returns to the hotel after walking around and exploring the city while Stoker's fight was taking place. She peaks from the window since it was late and her husband had not yet returned, only to see him struggling to walk out of the alley, he falls on the floor appearing to be badly wounded, she screams "Bill!" and runs to his side. This final scene was heart-wrenching. Bill informs Julie that he had won the fight, but won't be fighting again. Themes: Some notable themes appear in the film, such as love of caring and grit. Julie is concerned for her husband, out of love for him, she can not bear to see him in pain. Or as she says "with his brains out of his head". His respect and consideration for her concern is admirable, he assures her that he is just "one punch away". Throughout the film, we see Stoker peaking through the locker room window to see if Julie has changed her mind about coming out and supporting him. He smiles and gets happy when he sees the light close, presuming that she has changed her mind and decided to come out to watch him fight. It is obviously interpreted that he loves his wife and desires her support, but at the same time, understands her fear. The second theme that I found recurring was grit. To have grit is to have courage, strength, and determination. All exemplified by Stoker's attitude about his career, current ability, and goals. He displays a great about of courage even though his victory was against the odds. Even when he wins, he is humble. Especially after learning of his manager's fix, he does not cheap in and throw the fight, rather he gathers strength and finds himself more motivated to do what is right by himself. He did not want to lose or deter his character and his fight. Stoker goes against what his wife fears, what his manager thinks, and what the audience says, and still wins the fight. Adaptation: The film was a faithful adaptation to the poem written by Joseph Moncure March. The poem was published in 1928, and depicted a narrative which two decades later was the original inspiration for The Set-Up. The poem provided RKO studios with everything they needed for a film adaptation. "A setting, a tough-as-nails title, and a story about two conniving fight managers and their aging black middleweight Pansy Jones." (Poem Noir Becomes Prizefight Film). The adaptation was faithful in the story, climax, setting and plot. The most obvious change was the main character, who was black in the poem. The poem was similar in plot line, where the fighter is set up. In the poem, the fighter's name is Pansy Jones. His managers, along with a gambler set Pansy up, but do not say anything as they assume he will lose anyway. Pansy learns of what is going on, and out of anger and resentment, towards the end defeats his opponent. In March's poem this instance is depicted like this: "No boxing now To hell with that! He leapt in striking Like a savage cat," Unbeknown to Pansy, his victory in the ring equated to his loss as the gambler and gangsters assault him after the match. Just like in the film adaptation, both story endings result in the boxer being hurt due to the unwillingness to intentionally lose the fight. Cinematography: I most admire cinematography and the creative use of angles to add to the depth and dimension of a scene. In the film, the pivotal scene of the boxing match was shot in three different angles, Wise knew how to make the scene impactful. "Wise used three cameras to capture the boxing scenes — one capable of seeing the entire ring, one focused on the fighters, and a handheld for quick shots and close-ups." (21 Things We Learn From Martin Scorsese's Commentary on The Set-Up). The angles allow us to feel the brutality, physicality, and the effort of the fight and emotions of the fighters. Another neat use of camera was in the opening scene of the film where the director adds a catch of a clock that reads 9:05. Wise then closes the film with the same close showing the time that lapsed roughly about the duration of the film later. This is not a significant detail, rather a piece carefully included to create a connecting and coherent feel while watching the movie. The Indian Runner (1991)Overview: The Indian Runner, was directed by Sean Penn in 1991. This was actually Penn's debut as a director and writer. It starred David Morse as Joe Roberts, Viggo Mortensen as Frankie Roberts, Patricia Arquette as Dorothy, and Valerie Golina as Maria. This film carries a lot of elements from 1970's American cinema. The film was mainly inspired by a five minute song written by Bruce Springsteen in 1982, titled "Highway Patrolman". "The film oscillates, like a blues ballad, between uplifting humanism and melancholic despair in an irregular tempo that suggests a less than comfortable resolution. Much of what is great about the film is its combination of stark visuals, an amplified period atmosphere, star turn acting and raw emotion: signature components of the best American cinema of a previous generation", according to an article by Bill Craske. Setting-wise, it seems the film takes place in the later 1960s, after the Vietnam war, in a midwestern small town, in Nebraska. The film revolves around the schematic, moral, and status differences between two brothers, Joe and Frankie. We are able to see ideological differences between the two male characters through their conversation. Summary: Joe Robert's is a young man that has a small family to provide for. He tried to have a farm and sustain his family with that. But, when he lost the farm, he became the small town deputy sheriff of his town. The opening scene was a very important scene in which Joe shoots and kills a man in the frame of self-defense. Joe feels conflicted about this shooting and it does not settle well with him, he confides in his wife Maria, and she assures him that he did nothing wrong. Later that night, Maria hears something in the middle in the night, takes her husbands gun to investigate and finds that her brother-in-law, Frank, has broken into their home. He could not wait until the morning, he says. Frank spends very little time with Joe and his family, and returns out of town the next day, without seeing or greeting his parents. Frank says they will understand, and they always do when he does anything. Joe does not hear from Frank for several months. In this time, their mother dies and Frank is absent from the funeral. He finds out from their father that Frank is in jail. When he is released, Joe goes to the jail and waits for him to get out, only to see that he has a girlfriend, who is pregnant, also waiting in the jail to meet Frankie. Joe quietly leaves, as he wants Frank to enjoy this moment with his girlfriend Dorothy. Joe informs Frank of their mothers death and meets Dorothy for the first time. Before coming to meet Frank, Joe asks his wife Maria if Frank can come and stay with them for a little bit, to which she very reluctantly agrees. Both of the brothers reminisce their childhood and how they used to have so much fun playing together. Frank declines the offer to come stay with his brother. Their father then commits suicide, probably due to loneliness and emptiness, and the news reaches Frank. Frank packs his stuff and comes to stay with Joe. Dorothy and Frank announce their pregnancy and Frank seems really happy about it. After this scene, we see a meaningful moment between the two brothers, where they rekindle their bond and acknowledge how they have both missed one another. Frank proposes that they play a game they used to play when they were younger, similar to tag, and they both go running into the field and then hug and mutually cherish the moments. The film takes an unusual turn at this point, even though it seemed to be getting happier for everyone, we saw good news, new starts, and bonding between the characters. Frank's behavior starts to get startling, the rude and animalistic side starts to become more and more apparent. He insults and spits food on his girl friend, which was very scary for her too. After that, he goes to a bar and gets into a violent fight with one of the other men at the bar, leaving the man's face bloodied and apparently blind-sighted. The police call Joe in, while Frank is handcuffed to the bar. Joe is conflicted with his duty as a brother and as a civil policeman. He tells Frank that his actions of that night could cause him to serve a year in jail. Frank gets a job in construction and makes seemingly active efforts to try and be a better man for Dorothy and his future child. He proposes to Dorothy and weds her, starts going to work, and cleans up his appearance as well. Again, seemed as if there was hope for him. He also grieves his parents' deaths in the car ride with his brother. He spends time with Dorothy while she gets things ready for the baby, and then the worst possible situation takes place. Just as Dorothy is ready to deliver the baby, Frank is missing. He is nowhere to be found. Joe gets another call about his brothers actions. But before this scene, there is a scene where Joe and Frank were having a conversation at the bar and Frank says there are only two kinds of men, "heroes and outlaws", he saw the world much differently than what reality presented itself to him. He tells Joe that he would've enjoyed killing that man because he would have no repercussions. Joe learns that his younger brother has committed murder and falls into despair. He chases Frank's car all the way to the state's border and watches his headlights disappear, letting him get away. Themes: A theme that was very recurring was the importance of family and the lengths people go for family. Joe never gives up on his family, especially his brother Frank, despite his illegal, irresponsible, and childish actions. Joe only gives a lot of effort for Frank because he was his younger brother and he constantly sees his as a kid who used to play with his toy guns. Joe even risked being biased with his brother, when he brought him back home after Frank injured that man at the club, he faced no consequences, even though he deserved one year in jail. Joe physically cuts his own hand to illustrate to Frank what blood is and what it means to be family, and how that bond is sacred, that it gives meaning to life. Character analysis: Joe was protective, responsible, and in good moral standing. The exact opposite of his brother Frank. There were not many parallels between the two brothers. It was unclear as to why the two brothers were so different. Frank presented with irrational ideas, probably ideas that resulted from seeing his older brother always being the role model, parent's favorite, and someone that everyone compared him to. He could also be facing post traumatic stress disorder as he served in the Vietnam War. The character analysis can go very deep for Frank, as he shows a lot of signs of misaligned view points. Adaptation: The film was a faithful adaptation of the song. Penn keeps the relevant details from the song and adds various plot continuations of his own. "Given all that, it means something that Springsteen thought highly enough of Penn’s vision even as a first-time filmmaker to grant him permission to use the “Highway Patrolman” characters and story." (The Verge) The song mentions the character names and roles but the added detail and events were the work of new writer, Sean Penn. "Ever since we were young kids, it's been the same come down I'd get a call on the short wave, Frankie's in trouble downtown Well, if it was any other man, I'd put him straight away But sometimes when it's your brother, you look the other way" These lyrics adequately describe the relationship between the two brothers. Joe would constantly get calls from authorities informing him of his brothers misconduct. Joe helps his brother get out of trouble every time he acts up, even until the very end where he lets Frank get away. This shows his obvious bias towards his family, which goes back to connect with the movies theme of the importance of blood. The 1982 song by Bruce Springsteen was extremely moving and emotional. He even had a Netflix special in which he performed the song. It captivates the essence of the story very well. The plot resonates with anyone with a brother, or siblings for that matter. The director does a really good job creating a film adaptation of the song, and the film did very well for its time. "Penn, he was taking advantage of a fertile period for American cinema, when studios and independent producers were willing to spend a little money on more artful, sophisticated dramas, figuring that fostering relationships with young directors" (article on The Verge, by Noel Murray). Sources used:https://filmschoolrejects.com/martin-scorsese-the-set-up-commentary/
https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/lonelyheart "Poem Noir Becomes Prizefight Film", by Jefferson Hunter https://www.popoptiq.com/the-set-up/ http://sensesofcinema.com/2001/cteq/indian_runner/ https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/14/18141412/bruce-springsteen-broadway-netflix-special-indian-runner-movie-recommendation-what-to-watch http://moveablefest.com/sean-penn-reflects-on-indian-runner-20-years-later/
5 Comments
Kim Tram
4/4/2020 07:04:44 pm
Hey! Interesting blog. I like how to spot the different angles Wise uses in his movie. He carefully use close up shot during boxing time so viewers can see every moves clearly, and how his eager lead him to become a champion.
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Khadija Khalek
4/5/2020 06:48:20 pm
Hi Husna! I strongly agree with your cinematagrophy portion, it is interesting how he uses three different angles. Your blog is well written and neat. Great Job!
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Shaza Mumtaz
4/5/2020 08:27:59 pm
I like how you talk about the different angles used in this film. In addition, I liked how you talked about the different themes in the films. In addition, I like how you talk about connection between the poems and films.
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Troy Mitchell
4/7/2020 04:23:58 pm
Yeah I agree with you the different angles used in the film is a key aspect of the mise en scenes thorough the films.
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Khadija Khalek
5/11/2020 01:03:41 pm
Hi Husna! I strongly agree with your cinematagrophy portion, it is interesting how he uses three different angles. Your blog is well written and neat. Overall, neat job!
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AuthorHi. My name is Husna. I am a full time student at the College of DuPage. Archives
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