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Reviews
The Historian (2014)
Great Little Indie Set in the Wild World of Academia
As a first feature from Miles Doleac, who wore multiple hats as writer, director and actor, The Historian shows great promise. I noticed one reviewer made negative comments about the film having been made in Mississippi. That seems a little closed-minded--let's not forget that while there exists a dark history, Mississippi's creative legacy is undeniable--and mean to be so negative just because it was filmed in the Deep South (full disclosure, I live in New Orleans). I was actually pleasantly surprised to find out that the film was made in MS, because the film looked a little bit like Anywhere, USA. The cinematography was really beautiful.
Perhaps the context clues within the film about everyone studying ancient history and the fact that Jesus lived in the first century, and thus was an ancient personage, escaped that person. For me, I didn't think it was overly preachy, but really enjoyed being put in the classroom and seeing the efforts that teachers make to try to keep their students interested while presenting them with a new way to look at the world.
I haven't been a part of academia as a professor, but in my experience as a grad student, some of the situations and people depicted in The Historian are pretty spot-on. While his performance was a little distracting and over-the-top, Colin Cunningham's crazy, off-beat professor reminded me of a couple of my old professors. And William Sadler's portrayal of the uptight, possessive patriarch of the Classics department whose ties to his students sometimes straddled the inappropriate was incredibly true-to-life. I think one reviewer mentioned that the world of academia is much further down the path than even this film presents---I fully concur.
The performances of the leading actors were solid. John Cullum is simply divine. I wanted more of him and his story. Sadler and Doleac were also good and their scenes together crackle with tension. Jillian Taylor is at times a little silly and saccharine sweet, but it's hard to tell if it's her or the writing. I also fan-girled a little bit about Glynnis O'Connor in this film, I adore her.
I'll grant, part of the ending is a little cliché, with the burst in popularity of Ben Rhodes' classes (but who can deny that teachers can become heroes--and I have personally been in Classics courses in huge lectures halls that were packed to the gills), but the other part surprised me. I was totally expecting the romantic story line to wrap up in the opposite way. It was really nice to see a strong woman who is unapologetic about her sexuality, who says what she thinks, and is complex and emotional even though she claims not to be. It was really nice to see that woman, who at times was the only person in the film who knew who the hell she was, get the guy.
I very much enjoyed the film and would not hesitate to watch another of Doleac's projects!