The elements of the biopic of the artist are well defined: the struggle with drink and/or drugs, the love of a good woman, the defining moment of inspiration, the recreation of the art itself and the succession of minor characters whose primary role seems to be to comment on the exact status of the hero's career. In this sense, Ed Harris' film 'Pollock' is quite similar to the films made about Ray Charles or Johnny Cash, differentiated primarily by the stubborn refusal of the narrative of Pollock's life to fit into a happy ending. Harris not only directs but also stars, and he gives a performance of studied intensity, forcing the audience to respect his unconventional art through the display of commitment to it manifested by the man. But the root cause of Pollock's demons remain hidden to us; and one wonders if there was perhaps, in a fragment of the man's troubled life, a better story than there is in the whole of it.
Review of Pollock
