Made
for USA Network Movie
Starring:
Jason Robards, Eva Marie Saint, Neil Patrick Harris,
Mira Furlan, and introducing Elina Lowensohn as Antonia.
Award winning
actress Mira Furlan brings a badly needed lift to this otherwise
flat drama. Her performance in My Antonia registers a notch above
those provided by movie and TV legends Jason Robards and Eva
Marie Saint. The veteran actors' lackluster performance, however,
has less to do with their abilities and more to do with whom they interact
-- Neil Patrick Harris.
Harris
plays the story's protagonist, James. After his parents die in an epidemic,
the teenager moves from Virginia to "big sky country" to live
with his grandparents (Robards and Saint). You would think such a devastating
loss would show on the face of the survivor or at least be demonstrated
in some manner. Not here. Harris plays the role as if he's spending
the summer with "grandma and grandpa on the farm."
His performance
is not surprising; Harris's most recognized role was the lead
in the sitcom Doggie Houser, M.D. Working on a sitcom is hardly training
at Julliard. Harris's on-screen aging from idealistic child to
level-headed adult is forced and uneven. He seems to muddle through
his performance, unable to show the range of emotions every teen goes
through on the way to maturity. Essentially, the failure of this story
rests squarely on his shoulders.
The adaptation
of Cather's work, however, didn't help. Those who've read the 1800s
novel can't help but be swept up by the rich setting filled with quirky
characters. In this version, much of Cather's detail is left out, resulting
in yet another bland boy meets girl movie. Whoever adapted this eloquent
novel should find some work that is more on his or her level, such as
writing street signs. Gone are the stories about Russia; instead we
get a cursory meeting of the novels more interesting characters -- the
two Russians. Gone are the tales describing Antonia's life in the "old
country." All that is left is a cliché ridden teen love
story.
Although
the script lacks the richness of Cather's novel, the cinematography
does not. The sweeping panoramas of the early plains are spectacular
-- but not enough to save this bomb.
One other
highlight is the performance of Elina Lowensohn, who played Antonia.
During this two-hour movie, she seamlessly ages from a young carefree
girl to wife and mother. Quite a feat for her first role.
My Antonia
(pronounced An-toe-nee-ah) is based on the Willa Cather classic of the
same name. The story revolves around the love between the American-born
James and the Bohemian Antonia. The only subplot to survive this adaptation
is the difficulties Antonia's family, Shimerdas, face when adjusting
to American life. In Bohemia, the Shimerdas were wealthy aristocrats.
Like many others of their day, they sold everything they had to carve
out a better life in America. And like many immigrants, the Shimerdas
find themselves second class citizens, vulnerable and preyed upon by
some and hated and despised by others.
Ms. Furlan
plays Antonia's non-English speaking mother. The Yugoslavian born actress
is best known to American audiences as Ambassador Delenn in Warner Brother's
Babylon 5. This movie provides B5 fans the rare opportunity to see Ms.
Furlan out of her cumbersome "Delenn" makeup.
Although
Ms. Furlan performance is only part of the story's minor subplot,
her brief scenes are memorable. Early in the movie, James' grandparents
bring the Shimerdas some welcome gifts of food and furniture. Ms.
Furlan conveys, with very broken English and pantomime, how grateful
she is for the gifts and how ashamed she is of their "sod house."
In her second
scene, she reveals her characters utter despair and loss of hope with
one glance. Her husband, out of shame and humiliation, kills himself
-- leaving her to raise the children alone, in a hostile environment.
It's unfortunate Ms. Furlan is limited to only two scenes in
this movie. This story desperately needed more of her caliber of acting.
My Antonia
does not slide completely into the boy meets girl mold. Movies of
this genre usually end on a positive note -- boy marries girl. Charles
Dickens, under tremendous pressure from readers, rewrote the ending
to the classic Great Expectations. Originally Pip ends up alone; the
revision hints toward a more positive ending -- boy gets girl.
My Antonia
does not end on this positive note.
And it does
this for a rather interesting reason. Most authors draw from their surroundings
and personal experiences when writing and Willa Cather is no exception.
Ms. Cather is believed to have been a homosexual. This offers one explanation
as to why James is prevented from maintaining a serious (i.e., sexual)
relationship with his first true love. In the story, he cannot consider
marriage because Antonia is a foreigner. If this novel is based on Cather's
first love, she too would be prevented from a physical relationship
because both are women.
Those who
are Willa Cather fans will be disappointed with this movie. If you are
interested in seeing what Ms. Furlan "really" looks
like, by all means rent the video -- but fast forward to see Ms.
Furlan's two scenes. If you have an afternoon to waste, then watch
all of it. But remember, you've been warned.
This
article first appeared in Volume 2, Issue 2 of Command
and Control.
©Mary E. Wood