McConaugheMay Day 5: Friedkin Uncut
Noteworthy: Wrapping up the last of the McConaughey "movies" I haven't seen, which is largely documentaries in which he barely appears, has presented an enlightening glimpse at the man of the month. Even when a project is not about him, the choices he makes in the stories he tells, when he takes credit and when he gives it, means that even movies that he barely features in lets me know more about him.
This documentary about the legendary director William Friedkin (which, no joke, starts with him saying he's most fascinated by Adolf Hitler and Jesus “for their extremes”) offers some interesting tidbits about the director, but generally fails to deliver on the opening. After all, Friedkin was pretty famously a guy who, at BEST, played fast and loose with his actors' safety and emotional health. Ellen Burstyn busted her back in The Exorcist, multiple actors and actresses (even in this film!) mention how emotionally abusive Friedkin could be on set if he thought it would lead to a good performance.
He is also almost inarguably one of the greatest film directors to ever do it. Any conversation about the greatest American films of the last 100 years needs to at least mention The Exorcist, Sorcerer, The French Connection, To Live and Die in L.A., et cetera. Friedkin himself says that we're all capable of great goodness and awful evil in a talking head segment, and his life seems to bear that out. Certainly many of the actors who worked with him are grateful for the art they made together and the doors it opened for them career-wise, but that doesn't excuse the on-set experience, does it? It's not really for me to say or to judge, not having been there. Friedkin Uncut certainly doesn't dwell on the negatives of his behavior, mostly couching those rare moments between actors and actresses praising the work and the collaboration in the end.
As for the man of the month, Matthew McConaughey credits his casting in True Detective specifically to Killer Joe proving that he could play such a dark figure, and I don't think he's wrong there. One could very easily extrapolate that the entire McConnaissance can be credited to Friedkin, and thus, this entire month of self-abuse that I do every year is Friedkin's fault. Is that worth the existence of Sorcerer?
Yes, obviously.
It's a shame that Friedkin died when it seems like he still had more work in him. As an artist, he was inarguably a guy who kept evolving and seeking the new. I like that he describes his existence as one closer to a craftsman than an artist. I think that's a healthy way to engage with a creative hobby. While this documentary is unlikely to offer any unique insight on William Friedkin, for those who are interested, it is a pleasant enough way to while away the hours.
Once again, it hilarious that Quentin Tarantino has the craziest hot takes regarding cinema. In one moment, he says that Sorcerer is a perfect movie "except for Roy Schieder.”