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Reviews
Waiting for Hockney (2008)
A film for anyone who's ever had a dream or thought of or tried to do something outside of themselves
I appreciate an 'issues' documentary as much as the next person, but frankly I think I've seen enough docs about Iraq, election frauds, and other Bush administration fiascos. So, based on what I'd heard about 'Waiting For Hockney', which was described as a 'poignant comedy', it sounded like a nice change of pace. I have to say, I wasn't disappointed at all.
The film tells the story of Billy Pappas, a nearly 40 year old working-class guy from Baltimore. Billy's been to art school, but he finds himself stuck working as a waiter in a restaurant. When a weirdo named Larry Link shows up for dinner one night, they strike up an odd friendship. Link is an architect who clearly appreciates artistic talent, but he also seems weirdly enamored with Billy and his naivete, as well as his artistic capabilities. Billy, looking for a mentor, quickly falls under Link's spell. Soon, they are scheming together about how - as Link dares Billy - to 'reinvent realism' by doing some new, extraordinary work of art. And soon enough, Billy undertakes the painstaking recreation of a photographic image (I won't say who or what... suffice it to say it's a famous face) in an attempt to bring the subject to life in his portrait, with his style. And that style consists of painstaking work... meaning that Billy works by making thousands and thousands of tiny, microscopic marks on a small piece of paper. He works all day and - here's the kicker - in order to actually complete the thing, he works this way for almost ten friggin' years! Talk about needing a life...
Anyway, when he finally finishes, he and Link... and by now he's added more strango's to his cabal - an inarticulate priest, a fairly credible museum director, Link's wife (who takes photographs of everything) - this group now decides that there's only one person in the world who can declare Billy's work ground-breaking (and maybe help him get a second commission for real money). The person they go after is artist David Hockney, who they describe as a 'rock star'. And so, the chase begins, and this is where the story starts to really take off as a caper, full of great/crazy characters and a seemingly-unattainable object of desire in Hockney. Team Billy tries to get Hockney to pay attention, maybe even to meet with Billy and to bless his work. I won't spoil any more of the plot, but think 'American Movie' meets 'Pollock'...
Before I forget, all of this 'action' is complemented soooo well with scenes of Billy with his family, a rambling ethnic bunch from Baltimore. Especially memorable is Billy's mom, Cookie, who as much as states that Billy is still her little kid... she doesn't want anything to change him, not even success. It's hard to be neutral about a character like Cookie, a doting mother, and I think every mother in the audience could in some way relate to her. For that matter, everyone in the audience with a mother ;-) will respond to Cookie as either the mother of the year or the smother of the year...
First-time director Julie Checkoway has made a remarkable 'un-documentary', a film that plays more like a dramatic/comedic feature than a talking-head issues doc. But through great structure, pacing and editing to convey the complexities of the story, a judicious use of archival materials like photos and old movies, and with the complement of great music, Checkoway takes the audience on a ride and allows them to see and hear the 'issues' that Billy's dream and pursuit embody, but through their own world view. Sure, the director seems to have a point of view, but you'll form your own opinion. This is the kind of movie that you will not be able to stop thinking or talking about at coffee after the show... and for days afterward. Not only, "What is art?" or "Who gets to decide what art is?", but also, "Who gets to say that what you do in life is valid, or worthy?"
This is a film for anyone who's ever had a dream or thought of or tried to do something outside of themselves. A great film that will just not allow you to leave these and other questions unexamined.