The Chase by Horton Foote - 8 out of 10

 

The Chase by Horton Foote

8 out of 10

 

 

The chase is a play that has been adapted for the big screen, with a dream team as part of the cast – Marlon Brando as Sheriff Calder, Robert Redford Bubber Reeves, Jane Fonda as Anna Reeves, James Fox is James ‘Jake’ Rogers, Robert Duvall as Edwin Stewart and others, directed by the remarkable Arthur Penn…

 

However, the result was not cheered by critics, who have mostly dismissed it, disliked the performance of Marlon Brando – the giant said that he was not happy with the script, which did not give him more than just walking around, but it might well be a case of having too high expectations, the reverse worked for me

Reading that this was not satisfying enough, and expecting less than a knock out, The Chase turned out to be a pleasant surprise and a good film, if not a landmark, an overwhelming, dazzling experiment – Bubber Reeves escapes prison early, so we may think of The Shawshank Redemption, which stays at Number One

 

The Shawshank Redemption https://realini.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-shawshank-redemption-by-stephen-king.html is the most popular movie ever, and an inspirational one at that, Andy would be the equivalent of Bubber, albeit there are some major differences, in The Shawshank exposes injustice, it offers hope

Andy may have been involved in a murder, we do not know for sure in the first part of the film – I could disclose more without being accused of spoiling it, since it is not about the story at hand, which is anyway unlikely to come your way any time soon, and then ‘you’ may not be a thing, as in nobody reads this far

 

Nonetheless, The Shawshank Redemption is exhilarating and so encouraging because we see the guards, the warden up to such nasty, brutal, vile things, they take on board Andy, because he is a financial wizard, and he saves them money on taxes, can keep the parallel accounting, but this is the climax, he takes them all down

On the other hand, in The Chase, the outcome looks gloomy – spoiler alert, if you are still around, then it might be time to leave this space, because it looks like I will express my feelings on what happens, towards and perhaps even at the end – Bubber says at one point that he could not stand jail anymore, and had to flee

 

Still, what waits for him outside is not Days of Wine and Roses  https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/08/days-of-wine-and-roses-written-by-jp.html his wife, Anna Reeves aka legendary, activist, outstanding Jane Fonda, has not been faithful, if that is a term we could use in the Woke Age

 

Anna has been ‘consoled’ by Jake, a friend of the prisoner, so that we have a menage a trois for some time – there is also a lot of talk about the sexual liberation, some fun-loving people talk about that, they want to dance, drink and be merry, one woman speaks about infidelity, and if it is to be punished, half the town will have to suffer

One important theme is racism, this narrative takes place in a period when there were many racists – they are still around, obviously, somehow, I see them as members of the Cult of Orange Jesus, with his attacks on ‘Mexican rapists, talk of shit hole countries in Africa and the like’, but the situation has improved

 

There is a group of white red necks that stop, harass and are ready to abuse a black man, willing to press him to say where Bubber is hiding, they accuse the innocent man that he was trying to assault a white woman, Sheriff Calder aka Marlon Brando happens to drive by and saves the victim, at least for the time being

The sheriff will lament on the situation, the disgusting situation they have to live in, a town where an innocent fellow has to be locked up, so that he does not get killed, for this is what he has to do, he takes the black man to his office and locks him in the cell, so that the racists do not get to him to harm him or worse

 

Alas, they will not be stopped: Val Rogers is the rich man in town, and as such, he controls much of what is happening, and wants to assert his will in the situation, especially after he finds that his son, Jake, is sleeping, philandering with the wife of the runaway, and there is a risk that he could get under fire, maybe even shot

So, this sort of MAGA man – I tend to associate the bad in the US with Orange Jesus, his crowd of fanatic apes, and even get back on the genealogical tree and say that loathsome characters, like the mob in this film aka play must be the ancestors, or parents of the morons that vote for the Orange Devil – walks into the sheriff’s office

 

Val Rogers wants to talk to the prisoner, to find where Bubber is, and then presumably to eliminate any danger for his son, but Sheriff Calder would have none of that, the latter is a just man, determined to see that the laws are respected, but he stands no chance against the villains, who have the numbers, the hero is alone, facing five or more

They beat him up, while the rich ghoul is in the cell, and while one group is bleeding the sheriff upstairs, this replica of Orange Jesus is attacking the victim in the cellar, so that they get the upper hand…meanwhile, Bubber is hoping for help from his spouse, who shows up with Jake, but there are small chances that all will be resolved

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Heritage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

 

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

 

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”