Bird
In 1988, Clint Eastwood directed Bird, a biopic about jazz legend Charlie Parker that dealt a serious blow to the remaining critics that had refused to give him his due as one of America's finest directors. Although helmed by Hollywood icon Eastwood, Bird is pure arthouse fare, from its time-twisting narrative to its evocative imagery and bleak tone.
Bird made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, capturing the Best Actor prize for Forest Whitaker. The film tells the story of Charlie Parker, a revolutionary saxophone player who was an important part of the bebop jazz movement (which also included Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis). Despite his prodigious musical skills, Parker was plagued by personal demons that were compounded by the era's racism and his penchant for womanizing, boozing and drug use.
The film deals primarily with the final years of Parker's life, although as mentioned earlier, it employs a time-jumping narrative that also includes other footage, such as a scene showing a teenage Parker that becomes a key symbol throughout the movie. We get a feel for Parker's spectacular musicianship, as well as the factors that contributed to his mental instability and untimely death at age 35.
Helping Parker cope with his demons is wife Chan Parker (Diane Venora), a white woman who was Parker's fourth and final wife. Other key figures include Rod Rodney, a white musician who Parker befriended, and the aforementioned Dizzy Gillespie, a musician with comparable talent to Parker but with a seemingly firmer grasp on life.
Eastwood, an enormous jazz fan who saw Parker perform at the 1946 "Jazz at the Philharmonic" in Oakland, is the perfect director for this film. His passion for the subject matter shines through. The back-and-forth narrative, which includes flashbacks and flash forwards, mirrors an improvisational jazz solo, and coupled with the moody lighting and the memorable imagery, signals Bird as a virtuoso directing job. Eastwood's bold, uncompromising direction won him the Golden Globe for Best Director, but couldn't even score him an Oscar nomination from the foolish Academy.
Forest Whitaker is absolutely sensational as the troubled "Bird," utterly believable in every scene, whether blazing away on sax, stumbling around drunk, or cracking jokes. It's a shame his talent hasn't been put to better use since this startling performance.
Diane Venora, in a role that won her the Best Supporting Actress award from the N.Y. Critics Circle, gives an original, quirky performance that's hit-and-miss. Regardless of your thoughts on her performance, you'll admire her unique approach.
A discussion of Bird wouldn't be complete without mention of the film's music, which is superb. Music supervisor Lennie Niehaus and Eastwood took Parker's recordings (some never-before released), scrubbed out background noise, and then rerecorded with accompaniment by modern musicians. The result is crisp audio that showcases Parker's spectacular solos and will likely have you racing out to the music store to seek out some Charlie Parker CDs.
Some critics, including director Spike Lee, criticized Bird for its alleged failure to place Charlie Parker's life in an African American context, pointing to the white Chan Parker and Rod Rodney as the film's two most significant supporting players. It's true that Eastwood may have erred slightly in giving the Rodney character too much screen time, although his relationship with Parker does play the significant role of further humanizing Parker by showing his sense of humor. But overall, this complaint seems like unnecessary nitpicking, especially considering Eastwood's deft ability to repeatedly showcase the era's racism. In one powerful scene, Parker arrives at the gate of a (white) composer he admires and rings the entrance bell. When the composer answers his door, he doesn't see Parker per se but just a black man standing in the dark. As such, he promptly shuts the door, leaving a devastated Parker looking on.
Whether addressing the era's racism or exploring what made Parker a revolutionary musician, Eastwood doesn't provide simple answers. Rather, he directs Bird with many of the characteristics he brings to his acting performances: subtlety, irony and understatement. Bird, although too downbeat for some viewers, is a rich film that rewards repeat viewings and challenges the audience to connect the dots and ask questions. As such, it earns a place alongside The Outlaw Josey Wales, A Perfect World and Unforgiven as one of Eastwood's best-directed films.
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This unflinching look at Charlie Parker's boozing and excessive drug use isn't a party starter.
There are some touching scenes between Parker and wife Chan, but the film is far too dark to ignite romantic sparks.
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