CARRIED AWAY (1996) ¢ ¢ ¢
D: Bruno Barreto
Dennis Hopper, Amy Irving, Amy Locane,
Hal Holbrook, Julie Harris, Gary Busey
Bruno Barreto's screen version of Jim Harrison's spare 1976 novel "Farmer", about a middle-aged farmer/schoolteacher named Joseph and his relationships with two women: a 17-year-old student who basically seduces him, and a fellow teacher, his best friend's widow, who he's been in love with and involved with for years. Hopper, playing a character who's not completely psycho, is quite good in the lead, and Irving plays his longtime lover with down-to-earth passion and grace. Unfortunately, there's no chemistry at all between Hopper and Locane. It's hard to imagine what he sees in her beyond her luscious, golden-girl body, or why she'd be the least bit interested in him. The time and place are nonspecific - Harrison's book was set in northern Michigan, while the movie was shot in Texas - and some of the visual cues, like Hopper's pipe and bib overalls, Irving's reading glasses and Locane's schoolgirl dresses, are more than a little obvious. Hopper and Irving get about as naked in this - literally and figuratively - as you're ever going to see them. If the movie has a soul, it's in their performances.
Jim Harrison
(1937-2016)
