Hal Ashby is one of my favorite directors. Like Sidney Lumet, his body of work is phenomenal, but he's not widely known. His style is clean, which doesn't show off his skills. His style always perfectly fits the material. He knows characters. This, his Woody Guthrie biopic, is a great look at the folk music legend because it has the patience to let us get to know the man before he became the man we all know.
David Carradine (KILL BILL) gives his best performance as the sign painter turned protest singer. He can barely provide for his wife Mary (Melinda Dillon, A CHRISTMAS STORY) and his kids. One day feeling low, he hits the rails to California, where work is plentiful, word says. But when he gets there, after meeting all sorts of down-on-their-luck people along the way, he discovers the poor treatment the migrant workers suffer under.
Hungry, the prideful Guthrie stops at a soup kitchen and he bargains with the woman there named Pauline (Gail Strickland, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT) to paint them a sign for some food. She takes him up on his offer, but won't take him up on his suggestion that he come to her house for dinner. He then meets the union organizer Ozark Bule (Ronny Cox, ROBOCOP), who helps the singer get on the radio. Once he's nearly respectable, Pauline warms up to the frank speaking man.
Carradine makes Guthrie a simple ramblin' man who sees the world clearly and stands for what is right. His success gives him opportunity, but he's not as interested in the wealth. When the radio station manager tells him the sponsors want him to stay off political topics, he just ignores him. He's more interested in giving a voice to migrant workers like Luther Johnson (Randy Quaid, THE LAST DETAIL) than paying his rent. Carradine does a fine job performing Guthrie's tunes as well.
Famed cinematographer Haskell Wexler makes the Depression era Dust Bowl feel gritty and uncertain. Ashby, with his creative heads, focuses on all the details of the period. Iconic images abound that give the overall film a feel of legend much like Guthrie's songs. A monster dust storm engulfs Woody's hometown as the family sits in their living room with handkerchiefs tied around their faces. Guthrie rides atop the trains with the fields whizzing by. At one of the migrant camps, hundreds of farmers gather at night to hear Guthrie sing.
Throughout the film, Guthrie's "This Land is Our Land" plays in different keys depending on the mood of the scene. Ashby presents a somber tone for the whole production, which is fitting for the subject matter. Screenwriter Robert Getchell based the script on Guthrie's autobiography. Guthrie comes off as a man who doesn't want to make a big show of himself, but knows his talent. He doesn't like handouts, but understands how success will allow him what he really wants. What he really wants is to sing his songs. In the process, he hopes to change circumstances for men he met along his journey. He owes it to them.
Buy "Bound for Glory" on DVD Here!
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
