Pollock, based on the book by Gregory White Smith

Pollock, based on the book by Gregory White Smith

Pollock is an excellent motion picture, based on the book by Gregory White Smith, reflecting upon the life of a great American artist – for a period of about ten years, the most prominent – at times the only important? – painter of the greatest democracy in the world (up to the arrival of the Donald).

The film won an Oscar – Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Marcia Gay Harden as the wife of the hero, a painter in her own right, understanding, visionary, loyal, gritty, strong, perseverant – and was nominated for another: Best Actor in a Leading Role for the formidable Ed Harrris giving us an idea of what Jackson Pollock might have seemed like.

At the beginning of the feature, Jackson Pollock lives with his brother, Sande Pollock, and his wife, the latter being overwhelmed by the presence of her difficult, at times outrageous – finally even criminal? – brother in law.

Lee Krasner comes to visit the painter one day, curious to see the creator of some works she had seen and the two would have a long – very often straining, difficult relationship, with frequent fights- during one such vicious quarrel, taking place in front of the critic Clem Greenberg – portrayed by the fabulous, if now ostracized Jeffrey Tambor – Lee shouts that Pollock is killing her and he replies repeating bitch a few times.

It takes quite some time for the great artist to be recognized as a genius and achieve fame, read articles in Life and other media outlets about him and his art, have a film made3 with and about him.

Peggy Guggenheim has a crucial role in the discovery of Jackson Pollock, to start with, one day they make an appointment for her to see the paintings and she is upset because Pollock is late and appears to be inebriated, but once the protector of the arts sees the paintings, the career of the hero is salvaged.

A contract is signed, whereby the painter receives a monthly stipend of $ 150 – was it? A decent sum many decades ago, considering the protagonist was unknown at that moment – Peggy Guggenheim would receive a thirty per cent commission for the work he would sell.

The relationship with the rich, vibrant, if not extremely good-looking woman is close, at one point the painter asks about the many lovers she is supposed to have had and wants to have sex with her, takes his pants down somewhat, but fails to have intimate relations for more than a few seconds.

Alcohol has a major role to play in the life of Jackson Pollock, making him a worthy character even if he is not included, for the lineup of geniuses depicted in the fabulous work Intellectuals by Paul Johnson, along with Tolstoy, Rousseau, Ibsen, Hemingway and others.

When he is drunk, which happens often, the hero is abhorrent, abusive, violent, throws things around, scares Lee and anyone who happens to be around, insults and finally would be responsible for a tragedy…perhaps the details would not be mentioned, in the name of avoiding a spoiler, although the fate of the artist might be common knowledge.

The protagonist has a positive connection with Clem Greenberg, the critic that would mostly appreciate, even praise the work of the most important painter of the new generation, up to the point where Clem feels that after a glorious decade, the paintings are no longer divine, spectacularly good, but just fine.

That is making the sometimes-vain painter mad- the artist keeps reading in some scenes what Life is saying about him at his zenith, some Italian magazine, making his family resort to silence, for he seems so self-absorbed that a modern audience would think of…Trump

However, the moment of supreme glory arrives; the paintings are sold for thousands of dollars, making the creator joke that in time they would be even sold for one hundred thousand dollars – whereas today they change hands for about one hundred and forty million dollars!

When invited on a radio show, the genius is asked about the meaning of his work, to which he replies that we should look at such artwork as we look at beds of flowers, without wondering what they mean- in another scene wherein Lee keeps talking about the technique and the explanations, the annoyed Pollock says- stop talking and paint the damn thing.

In that same program, the hero is asked about the different approach to creation in the history of art and the painter says that in different periods, creators have had different means and in the present, the artist is more focused on inspiration, themes coming from within himself.

As for the dripping technique, the talk show host – well, what we would call today, but may have had a different name at the time – is interested to know how it works and whether it is not difficult to control what the dripping paint would look like on canvas.

Jackson Pollock explains that he works on the ground, using brushes, but they are used more like stills and he feels he has control over the drips, for he has been working for a long time like this and he has gained the necessary experience.

For a period of two years, the hero is able to resist the urge to drink, but after finishing the work for the film about him, he takes the bottle, insults the director, cameraman and producer of the film, repeatedly calling him a phony, sits at the Thanksgiving table with about ten guests and then takes all the dinner set up and throws it with the table over the guests and the floor.

He has many affairs, finally appearing to settle with Edith Metzger – played by the outstanding Jennifer Connelly – saying that she is his last hope, but he still drinks too much and provokes a tragedy.