"And I'm crazy for loving you." The closing line of her signature song sums up the main focus of the 1985 biopic: "Sweet Dreams" based on Patsy Cline's life from 1956 through 1963. Hollywood loves to explore the life stories behind great talents, usually offering a particular intepretation of what makes the artist tick. Screenwriter Robert Getchell, producer Bernard Schwartz and director Karel Reisz portray Patsy's relationship with her second husband, Charlie Dick, as being a core element of what fueled her passion as an artist.
The film begins when Patsy (played by Jessica Lange who received an Oscar nomination for her performance) is married to her first husband, Gerald Cline, pictured as a guy who's more interested in his own hobbies than in Patsy or her musical talent and career. In an early scene, the rigging on his model ship, for example, is more exciting to him than how Patsy's performance had gone at a particular club that night.
On the other hand, a man she met at the club couldn't take his eyes off of her. That man turns out to be Charlie Dick (Ed Harris) who gives her all the attention she's been starved for, including attention for her music, and who has a passionate personality to match her own. It isn't long before Patsy leaves Gerald.
However, where there's fire, there's beauty and power, and the danger of getting burned. The film depicts their marriage as both passionate and rocky, with flair ups due to their strong wills, and Charlie's drinking, philandering and temper. In the midst of the tumultuous episodes, they share the joys of two children together and Patsy's career successes - Charlie serving as one of her biggest fans.
Another great support is her mother, Hilda Hensley (warmly played by Ann Wedgeworth). Some artists are driven by their mothers or fathers, but Patsy seems to have had her own drive and dreams which her mother tried to help steer. She was also Patsy's place and person of safety when she and Charlie had their bouts.
The film also touches briefly on Patsy's key professional relationships, but only highlights that of her manager, Randy Hughes (David Clennon). This is probably due to the fact that in the end he is the one flying the plane on which Patsy, Randy, and performers Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins were killed.
The film ends shortly after the crash and funeral with a devastated Charlie reflecting back on the beginnings of their relationship with all its hopes and dreams, leaving us to ponder the connections between dreams, reality and love. Like a good sad country song, it leaves you with the hurt and longing of love and life somehow incomplete, and the knowledge that you really didn't appreciate what you had until it was gone.
As movies go, this one's pretty good. Lange and Harris's performances are wonderful. As a documentary on the life of Patsy Cline, it falls far short, leaving out so much of the other important aspects of her life, her career, and her lasting impact, as well as taking liberties with the details to make a better script.
The soundtrack is one of the best parts of the film. It features Patsy's actual vocal recordings from the last three years of her life - the MCA years - faithfully lip-synched by Lange who does a good job of capturing Patsy's overall performance style.
As others have said, both the film and the soundtrack make attempts to improve on the original Patsy, in some ways contributing to the legend rather than sharing the real thing. But perhaps that's a reflection of the film's basic idea that love is a crazy mix of dreams and reality.
But before we get to the main feature, let's enjoy...
The Pre-show:
I wonder if last week's download increase had anything to do with the inclusion of the new special, "TV On Deck", where we revisit classic tv series from the past. Mind you, it wasn't the first time when I was a kid / teenager that I would dash into a nearby cinema, not so much for the main feature itself, but for the "extras" which awaited. Some even had me for a complete week waiting to see what had finally happened to my screen hero. In this case our dear "The" Batman. We left him falling off a skyscraper... Did he die? Can't be, it's Batman! How'd he save himself? Boy... did the week drag along.. finally school was over and the weekend invited adventure. How easy it was to get excited back in the day. Let's not forget a taste of two half-hour laughs belonging to two different decades, the 60s and the 70s. To top it all, I'm sure there must be some classic cartoon.
Let's not forget the Pre-show added attraction of some interesting stories concerning Patsy Cline. The most important, in my humble opinion, is the audio testimony of the night Patsy Cline realized her dream at Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts CBS show, January 21, 1957.
The Main Feature:
Title: Sweet Dreams
Director: Karel Reisz
Cast: Jessica Lange / Ed Harris / Ann Wedgeworth / David Clennon
Release Date: October 4, 1985
Country: United States
On Your Way Out:
I'm sure all of you know what is expected in this section. The idea behind this, is to always get something that will hopefully, enhance your viewing experience.
Cheers Shade.
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