Paterno, screenplay by Debora Cahn
Once upon a time, al Pacino was such
an unknown entity that when his name was suggested for The Godfather, he was
rejected, and then it took some time to convince executives…
This and other intriguing,
fascinating stories are part of a thrilling book, the Kid Stays in the Picture,
by a former actor, producer and head of the Paramount Studio, Robert Evans who
explains the success of one of the best- in the top five actually- motion
pictures of all time.
The contribution of the cast, the
selection of an Italian director were crucial- a bet had been made and since
Francis Ford Coppola has won it, the producer received a call from Mercedes
America, about a limousine which was the object of the bet, to inform those
paying for it that this model is so limited, only three people would have it,
the pope, the director and some dictator somewhere in the world.
When asking for Al Pacino- after he
had received a confirmation- Robert Evans says that at the other end of the
call, he was asked-
Al Who?
Pacino…
You will have to spell it for me
Then this same story was repeated,
when the actor was requested at another studio where he has started working or
was engaged in the meantime and where he was also unknown and the spelling of
the name was required…
Al Pacino is now a deity, so well
known that any cinefile knows his work, the phenomenal achievements – Scarface,
Scent of a Woman, one can even enjoy- this viewer did- Bobby Deerfield, And
Justice for All, Heat, Serpico and so many more.
Alas, in recent years there is a
feeling that the once outstanding, luminous, excellent artist has reached his zenith
and he is now on a descending curve, well past his glory days alas.
In addition, he could be obnoxious
in the moments of bliss and maximum achievement, according to another quintessential-
better than the Kid Stays in the Picture- work on Hollywood and movies:
Adventures in the Screen Trade by the
winner of two Academy Awards, William Goldman
From this ultimate masterpiece on
the film industry we learn about Dustin Hoffman and his mean behavior on the
set of Marathon Man, when he was cruel with Laurence Olivier and another actor,
plus the whole crew, Robert Redford, after the launch of Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid and in the pre-production for All the President’s Men was also
obnoxious, to say the least.
In Paterno, Al Pacino, has the
leading role of Joe Paterno, a legendary coach – indeed, the most successful in
college history- that has enjoyed acclaim, a zenith, the love of athletes and
crowds.
Alas, it is the end of this
brilliant – if we discount what we are about to learn- career as a coach and
this man and others in his entourage, in leadership positions at Pen State
University are involved in a sex scandal.
Jerry Sandusky was a pedophile that
instead of being exposed, made to face consequences, punishment and evidently
banishment from areas, premises where he could abuse children, he was
protected.
Seemingly a “nice man” his
colleagues and superiors thought this might be just an innocent game, he may
have made a mistake- but all this is unacceptable, because it was not just
once, this monster was a repeat offender.
Paterno is not Spotlight, even if
the sexual scandals around the Catholic Church and some aspects regarding this
type of horrifying offence against children- as young as ten, perhaps younger-
are similar in their abhorrence, the lenience that the serial abusers received
from their superiors and at times, from the law.
What makes watching Paterno
worthwhile- even if this is not exhilarating or one of the best films of recent
history- is the fact that the protagonist is a complex character and so many
people love and regret him, even after the scandal broke out, tough measures
were called for and revelations made clear that, although he was very “busy
„with couching, Paterno knew about what happened.
In the age of MeToo and so many
scandals involving clergy, film producers, stars, directors and executives, the
attitude of forgiveness seems to encourage more abuse and suffering.
One can feel compassion for an old-
actually eighty-four years old- coach, who has done so much for his football team-
he highlights the fact that 85 % - was it? – of his players went on to pass
exams.
However, the question remains: what
about the victims, tens of young boys have been repeatedly raped, abused- at
one point, the old protagonist is asking his family, while he reads a report of
the vile acts perpetrated by the villainous Jerry Sandusky, what is sodomized?
In conclusion- you could do better
than watch Paterno, which is not as astounding as recent features like: The
Square, Nelyubov, A Fantastic Woman, On Body and Soul or The Insult…or perhaps
the glorious Leviafan, one of the best films ever made.
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