Filmed in 1990, but not released until 1994, due to Orion Pictures' bankruptcy, "Blue Sky" is a charming little period drama, the final film directed by Tony Richardson ("Tom Jones", "The Hotel New Hampshire"), the english filmmaker, ex-husband to Vanessa Redgrave and father to both the late Natasha & Joely Richardson, before his death due to complications from AIDS in 1991.
Written by Rama Stagner-Blum, partly biographical, with the help of Arlene Sarner & Jerry Leichtling, set in the early 60's, it tells the story of the Marshall family, constituted by Hank (Tommy Lee Jones), an Army Major nuclear engineer, his exuberant wife, Carly (Jessica Lange) and their two teenage daughters, Alex (Amy Locane) & Becky (Anna Klemp), who are transferred from Hawaii to an isolated base in Alabama, led by Colonel Johnson (Powers Boothe). Marshall is against open-air detonations of the A-bomb, code-named "Blue Sky", favoring the underground testings, colliding with Colonel Johnson's jingoism ambitions. At the same time, his lavishingly seductive wife, which suffers from bipolar disorder and likes to emulate Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor in her looks and style, is having problems adapting to a different reality in the Alabama base, making it difficult to her husband's work...
Above all, "Blue Sky" is enriched by a tour-de-force performance by one of the greatest north-american actresses, Jessica Lange, who won her second Oscar for her performance as Carly Marshall here. Echoing her role in "Frances" ('82), in which Lange was snubbed for an Academy Award, winning that very same year, but for an inferior supporting performance in "Tootsie", Carly Marshall is one of this actress' best achievements. She's sexy, charming, seductive, engaging and madly genious, exploring the character's mental illness to the full, turning her sometimes, frivolous and flirty and other times, a caring loving wife and mother that would give all to protect and stand by her husband.
Tommy Lee Jones, which filmed this part before his Oscar nomination in "JFK" ('91) and his best supporting Oscar winning in "The Fugitive" ('93), was promoted to the leading man status and his newfound fame, enhanced the chances of "Blue Sky" to be finnally released to the big screens. His role of the 'good husband in the military' here reminds a lot his character in Oliver Stone's "Heaven & Earth" ('93), which was released first, but filmed later. It's a less showy part, if compaired with Lange's, but Jones pull it off nicely with subtlety and decency as the affable and understanding husband. Amy Locane delivers a good performance as the witty elder daughter and Chris O'Donnell appears as Johnson's teenage son in one of his first screen roles. The late great Powers Boothe, who was always effective in his virile on-screen persona either playing the hero or the baddie, is cynical as the narcissist militarist who seduces Marshall's wife.
Technically and artistically, "Blue Sky" is a nice looking film, the cinematography by Steve Yaconelli is adequate and Richardson's direction is character-driven like a stage play on film. The editing is kind of messy in certain parts, too many cuts in crucial scenes, like if the movie was in a urge to move along to the next act. This may be due to the several re-cuts made by the producers, after Richardson's passed away, to release an originally much longer film in the 90 minutes mark. It's apparent that the producers / new distributors still not believed in the film, until Lange started to get critical praise and consenquently, her Golden Globe and Oscar wins. Last, but not the least, the delightful memorable music score by Jack Nitzsche deserves an honorable mention.
In terms of its captivating screenplay, the major flaw is that the events in the third act are way too far-fetched to be believed, but if enjoyed as a feel good sunday afternoon film, acted by a group of great thespians compromised with their characters, "Blue Sky" is a charming experience not to be missed.
My vote is a 7.5 !!
Written by Rama Stagner-Blum, partly biographical, with the help of Arlene Sarner & Jerry Leichtling, set in the early 60's, it tells the story of the Marshall family, constituted by Hank (Tommy Lee Jones), an Army Major nuclear engineer, his exuberant wife, Carly (Jessica Lange) and their two teenage daughters, Alex (Amy Locane) & Becky (Anna Klemp), who are transferred from Hawaii to an isolated base in Alabama, led by Colonel Johnson (Powers Boothe). Marshall is against open-air detonations of the A-bomb, code-named "Blue Sky", favoring the underground testings, colliding with Colonel Johnson's jingoism ambitions. At the same time, his lavishingly seductive wife, which suffers from bipolar disorder and likes to emulate Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor in her looks and style, is having problems adapting to a different reality in the Alabama base, making it difficult to her husband's work...
Above all, "Blue Sky" is enriched by a tour-de-force performance by one of the greatest north-american actresses, Jessica Lange, who won her second Oscar for her performance as Carly Marshall here. Echoing her role in "Frances" ('82), in which Lange was snubbed for an Academy Award, winning that very same year, but for an inferior supporting performance in "Tootsie", Carly Marshall is one of this actress' best achievements. She's sexy, charming, seductive, engaging and madly genious, exploring the character's mental illness to the full, turning her sometimes, frivolous and flirty and other times, a caring loving wife and mother that would give all to protect and stand by her husband.
Tommy Lee Jones, which filmed this part before his Oscar nomination in "JFK" ('91) and his best supporting Oscar winning in "The Fugitive" ('93), was promoted to the leading man status and his newfound fame, enhanced the chances of "Blue Sky" to be finnally released to the big screens. His role of the 'good husband in the military' here reminds a lot his character in Oliver Stone's "Heaven & Earth" ('93), which was released first, but filmed later. It's a less showy part, if compaired with Lange's, but Jones pull it off nicely with subtlety and decency as the affable and understanding husband. Amy Locane delivers a good performance as the witty elder daughter and Chris O'Donnell appears as Johnson's teenage son in one of his first screen roles. The late great Powers Boothe, who was always effective in his virile on-screen persona either playing the hero or the baddie, is cynical as the narcissist militarist who seduces Marshall's wife.
Technically and artistically, "Blue Sky" is a nice looking film, the cinematography by Steve Yaconelli is adequate and Richardson's direction is character-driven like a stage play on film. The editing is kind of messy in certain parts, too many cuts in crucial scenes, like if the movie was in a urge to move along to the next act. This may be due to the several re-cuts made by the producers, after Richardson's passed away, to release an originally much longer film in the 90 minutes mark. It's apparent that the producers / new distributors still not believed in the film, until Lange started to get critical praise and consenquently, her Golden Globe and Oscar wins. Last, but not the least, the delightful memorable music score by Jack Nitzsche deserves an honorable mention.
In terms of its captivating screenplay, the major flaw is that the events in the third act are way too far-fetched to be believed, but if enjoyed as a feel good sunday afternoon film, acted by a group of great thespians compromised with their characters, "Blue Sky" is a charming experience not to be missed.
My vote is a 7.5 !!