Movie Reviewed: Something Wild
Director: Jonathan Demme
Date: 24 May 2020
jamesintexas Rating: ***
On HBO
I am a Jonathan Demme fan, and the chance to revisit one of his earlier films was a treat. I was eight years old when Something Wild came out; my entry into Demme's work was seeing ads on HBO for Married to the Mob as a kid and then in 8th grade seeing the terrifying The Silence of The Lambs, for which he won the Oscar. Here, Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith play Charlie Driggs, an uptight New York yuppie who likes to dine and ditch, and Lulu/Audrey Henkel, a free spirited adventurer, respectively, whose paths cross when Lulu picks him up, and lead to a weekend (it seems longer; a week?) of wildness together. The film hinges upon the singular charisma of Griffith who is more than up to the task. I remember her being very striking in Working Girl, and the film goes all-in on her wild card persona: stealing money out of the register, drinking and driving, handcuffing Driggs and never unlocking him, coaxing him to sing along with The Troggs to "Wild Thing." They debate the merits of freedom and rebellion as a long weekend driving trip turns into a faux marriage, multiple costume changes, a trip to Henkel's high school reunion, and the chance encounter with the recently sprung from jail Ray Sinclair (Ray Liotta), Audrey's old flame who wants to pick things up again. Ray's machismo brutality comes up against the quick-thinking Driggs who has to figure out what he values and what he is willing to sacrifice for this long weekend escapade and maybe more.
Demme's film is centered upon all three performances: Daniels, Griffith, and Liotta, all great. They really are all stars, and it is fun to watch them work. It is a bit of a road movie with a travelogue quality of motels, diners, and highways making up much of the non-NYC scenes. My limited understanding of 1980's films reflects on how they depict the uptight conservative values of Manhattan bankers and businessmen who really, deep-down, just want to party and go a little crazy. Driggs insists that he is really a wild guy: "I may look straight," he says, "but deep down, I got what it takes." And the film is an exploration of that conceit. Demme's love of music here features a rich soundtrack of David Byrne, Oingo Boingo, and The Feelies. He also works with some of his usual supporting actors like Charles Napier (an officer disemboweled by Hannibal The Cannibal, but here, an aggressive chef) and Buzz Kilman (supporting host of Jonathon Brandmeier's Loop morning show that I used to listen to in Chicago, and also, a victim of Hannibal The Cannibal, but here, a tv newscaster). There is also some humor here as Driggs finds his own capacity to lie and tell tales, with Daniels spinning his dialogue out wildly, making it up as he goes, most notably when a work colleague happens to see him at the reunion, allowing Driggs the chance to act out in a most un-Charlie Driggs way.
There is a rich sort of humanism at work here without an epic scope or archness to the proceedings. These are flawed people, negotiating the currents that swirl around them, with Driggs being neither a complete dope or a hero, but someone with a real level of pathos to him. If the film's climax is a bit underwhelming, it certainly does not veer off into the realm of heroic fantasy and does not make Driggs into some sort of superhero. Demme handles the final scene with a lightness of touch that is sweet and returns us to the opening scene, and he ends the film with a musical performance from Sister Carol East that is quite wonderful. Overall, this modest film is light, lifted by its three strong lead performances, and showcases Demme's touch as a director which I have to think, in my limited experience, is drawing out amazing, charismatic work out of his actors and actresses, telling a good story, and layering in well-chosen music. Those hallmarks are on display here in Something Wild.
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