American Pastoral, 2016.
Directed by Ewan McGregor.
Starring Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Connolly, Dakota Fanning, Rupert Evans, Uzo Aduba, Molly Parker, David Strathairn, Valerie Curry, Peter Riegert.
SYNOPSIS:
In 1968, a hardworking man, who’s been a staple in his quaint community for years, watches his seemingly perfect middle class life fall apart as his daughter’s new radical political affiliation threatens to destroy their family.
Making the turn from actor to director isn’t an easy task and one that few actors have been able to pull off well. Ewan McGregor makes his directorial debut with American Pastoral, an adaptation of the book by Phillip Toth, about a seemingly normal family living the American Dream that is torn apart by the Vietnam War and the radical protests against it. McGregor displays competent skill as he directs Jennifer Connolly and Dakota Fanning in this thought-provoking look at the ways people hide just what is beneath the surface, yet lacks the emotional depth one might expect from such a tale.
McGregor plays Seymour ‘the Swede’ Levov, an all-star high school athlete and successful businessman who has everything going right for him until his daughter Mary (Fanning) becomes radicalized against the Vietnam War during her teenage years. McGregor gives a good performance throughout as he displays the father’s turmoil at what is happening to his daughter and her whereabouts after she goes on the run. Much of the emotional backbone of the story relies on him, and though McGregor sells the emotion well, that’s where it also fails.
American Pastoral relies too much on McGregor alone to pull the emotional weight. Though Connolly also delivers a good performance as Dawn becomes increasingly more distraught, she doesn’t have much opportunity to sell her emotional turmoil. Halfway through the film she becomes a distant shell, and though part of the film’s point is to examine the different ways a parent struggles through this kind of grief, Dawn’s emotional journey is somewhat sidelined in favour of the Swede’s.
Dakota Fanning’s performance is one of the highlights of the film as the revolutionary daughter, though she is surprisingly not in it quite that much. She certainly does nail the teenage angst and rebellious attitude Mary has, but due to her lack of screen time the emotion of her character is never truly felt past the first hour. Her shift from just speaking about radical ideas to actions is also not explored much, if at all, making that decision kind of vacant for the viewer since it happens offscreen with little explanation.
The supporting cast do fairly well with what they’re given as well. Out of them all, Valerie Curry gives a stirring performance as the radical Rita, shifting between cunning and twisted with ease. Orange is the New Black’s Uzo Aduba doesn’t have much to do, but shines out in one or two scenes that focuses on the Civil Rights era.
The film also examines the culture of the 1960s in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam protests. Thematically, there’s an underlying look at how everyone in the Swede’s life hides something from him while questioning the hypocritical values and beliefs of some of the more radical protest elements. McGregor does present some thought-provoking content that elevates the film, but his examination never quite reaches its fullest potential.
The performances themselves are good, with McGregor, Fanning and Curry standing out amongst them. Unfortunately, with so much reliance on McGregor’s character, there’s little emotional depth outside anyone else which makes it hard to connect to any of the other characters. McGregor at least knows how to direct his cast and makes some interesting examinations, but the emotion and thematic work are never up to the standard he’s aiming for. Regardless, this is at least a decent first outing as a director for McGregor. It’s just not as good as it could have been.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Ricky Church
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Originally published September 10, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
