The Reds - Movie Review Example

Reds Reds is one of the greatest works created by Warren Beatty and it is because of the great work that he did in both directing and producing it that it has remained exceedingly popular to the present day. This is an account of the real life events in the life of American Communist John Reed and when one considers the film version of his life, one will find that most of the scenes within it remain loyal to the original life story with Beatty attempting to ensure that he gets as close to the real man as possible. One of the most notable similarities between the real life Reed and the one in the movie is the fact that he decides to go ahead and do things which are extremely futile especially when he makes the decision to actively cover the Russian Revolution at the risk of his own life, and despite having this knowledge, and ends up doing it because of the belief that it is the right thing for him to do. For the duration of the film, Beatty attempts to display the reality of each of the characters in line with what occurred in their real lives and he does this from the very beginning. In order to create a situation where there is a contrast of characters that leads the movie into its climax, Beatty chooses an appropriate time to reveal the original plot to the audience, so that in this manner, he is able to capture the personality of each character in a manner which ensures that the audience is able to capture their role in the film. But before the climax of the film, he uses the main characters’ personalities and other events to convince the audience that what they are viewing is what really happened in the life of Reeds and the people who were close to him. By doing this, the Beatty ensures that he maintains the element of surprise that helps him to captivate his audience and he does this in a manner which provides the audience with the need to find out what is going to happen next in the film. While the main plot of the movie is an attempt to recreate the life of John Reed and the way that he was able to live his life as a Communist in the United States (Berg 124). However, the film does not completely remain loyal to the real life events of Reed’s life as seen where the roles of some individuals are diminished in favour of others. One will find that the film uses darker shades to display Russia and later the Soviet Union and this is mainly because of the fact that during the period when the film was being made, very little was known concerning this country and it was also a time when the people of these countries were immersed in the Cold War. Thus, while the Western world is depicted in bright colours and given more lighting, the opposite is true concerning the communist dominated East. The director also works towards dividing the film into two main parts which are developed in such a manner which ensures that there is a clear demarcation between Reed’s life before and after the Russian Revolution. The director attempts to ensure that the audience is able to seen the life of Reed before the Revolution, when he was a believer in the Communist ideals and chose to go to Russia so that he could make a true recording of what was taking place on the ground. However, after the revolution takes place, we find that Reed is disillusioned with the outcome, since the people do not have the power that they deserve with all of it being in the hands of a few. The director of the film makes the second part to have a generally dark tone and this is done in a manner which shows that Reed’s life is coming to an end and that most of the ideals that he has fought for so hard in his life have come to nothing as he dies away from his home country with no one with him except his true love. The design of the clothes and the vehicles that are used throughout the film are made in such a manner as to be in line with the spirit of the first quarter of the twentieth century and all the characters in the film are dressed up in such a manner as to resemble the real life individuals on whom they are based (Cowie 720). In the film, the characters seem to be selected from those people who are similar in appearance. Beatty remains loyal to the proper presentation of Reed, as a man who is complicated in nature like most human beings, and one who has a high capacity for love despite the infidelities that exist between him and Louise Bryant, the love of his life. This gives the audience the opportunity to appreciate the various characters within the film and to identify with them in a more intimate way than if they were not viewed from a more personal perspective. This movie brings out the new angle for biographical films and this is done in a manner that ensures that Reed, the main character, is shown to be able to deal with all the dilemmas of everyday life and is not the unblemished character that is normally shown in such films. The new dramatic angulation can be labeled as a man who loves a woman as well as his ideals and the movie provides inspiration similar to that of a man falling in love with a woman despite all her faults. This is a movie which displays the wide travels and interactions that Reed and Bryant encounter and it is a display of the massive diversity in human character. It can also be said to be a criticism of communism as practiced in Russia, where communist leaders declared that they were fighting for the rights of the people yet they end up becoming worse autocrats than the tsars. The movie is direct and is not action-crammed, and is presented in such a way as to show that it is good-humored and tongue-in-check, especially when one considers that it was developed during the height of the Cold War (Haynes 397). The script as written by Beatty does not take the set norms of biographical films seriously and the clichés are taken as nothing but silly games. In addition, dialogue of the movie comes out to be comical and most of its characters are attractive making the whole picture have a nature of marginal burlesque. Thus, despite the serious content that the director attempts to display in the movie, one will find that a lot of the time, there are some very interesting conversations, which at times turn out to be humorous and this is done in a manner which ensured the integrity of the film is kept intact while at the same time helping in the further development of the plot. In addition, there is the potential that the most loyal fans of the film version of Reed’s life will become extremely attached to it not only because it remains loyal to the way that he lived his life, but also because the appearance of the characters remains basically the same. It can therefore be said that the movie of the life of John Reed and Louise Bryant a major success because it ensured that there is a sense of continuity from the time when they were first written about and this enables the film to continue in popularity as it has for the last three decades. It can be concluded that there are more successes than failures when it comes to the depiction of this famous couple in Reds because not only the script but also the depiction of the characters has remained loyal to the manner in which these individuals lived their lives during a highly volatile period. This is a film which the director took a long time to develop and it was over a decade before he was satisfied with the outcome. In this way, one will find that instead of relying on the script of the film to reveal the emotions that the characters are going through, there is an unhealthy reliance on music cues to sell the film’s swirling emotions (Barsam and Monahan 162). There are too many montages that are meant not only to capture the essence of the film but also to make it more interesting and this succeeds to do so. However, it also succeeds to distract the audience from viewing what is really important in the plot of the film. In addition, a situation is created where, unlike in most biographical films, the film is not more of a musical with the plot playing a major role in the ongoing events within it. In this way, the film can be said to be a major success. As has been seen above, Reds is one of the greatest works created by Warren Beatty and it is because of the great work that he did in both directing and producing it that it has remained exceedingly popular to the present day. Furthermore, while the main plot of the movie is an attempt to recreate the life of John Reed and the way that he was able to live his life as a Communist in the United States. In addition, the design of the clothes and the vehicles that are used throughout the film are made in such a manner as to be in line with the spirit of the first quarter of the twentieth century and all the characters in the film are dressed up in such a manner as to resemble the real life individuals on whom they are based. Moreover, the movie is direct and is not action-crammed, and is presented in such a way as to show that it is good-humored and tongue-in-check, especially when one considers that it was developed during the height of the Cold War. Finally, this is a film which the director took a long time to develop and it was over a decade before he was satisfied with the outcome. In this way, one will find that instead of relying on the script of the film to reveal the emotions that the characters are going through, there is an unhealthy reliance on music cues to sell the film’s swirling emotions. Works Cited Barsam, Richard, and Monahan, Dave. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. New York: W.W. Norton, 2009. Berg, Olaf. "The Challenge of Film Considered as Historical Research." Cultural Studies Review 14.1 (2008): 124-36. Cowie, Jefferson. "Working Stiffs, Union Maids, Reds, and Riffraff: An Organized Guide to Films about Labor." Industrial & labor relations review 51.4 (1998): 720-1. Haynes, John Earl. "A Bibliography of Communism, Film, Radio and Television." Film History 16.4 (2004): 396-423. Read More