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Posted: 8/02/01
James Dean (2001)
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 When I was growing up, there were only two famous people I really heard of with any reverence. Marilyn Monroe. James Dean. I'm still not quite sure why they snagged in my memory, why they should take prominence over Dolly Parton or Buck Owens or any of the other people I saw on television each week. Or other movie stars that my mother loved. But something about Monroe and Dean caught my ear and pinched it for a long time. The obvious answer of course would be that, at least where I grew up, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean were both gay icons. But truthfully, I was a late bloomer -- I probably didn't even know the term "gay icon" until my 20s, and I'm not sure I've yet figured out what it denotes. But certainly as seems was requisite of gay icons of the time, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean had tragic lives or at least tragic elements to their lives. Needless deaths. Promise and potential cut short. Sparking enormous devotion.
Sad to say, I was 27. Hopefully you won't (or haven't) waited as long. I remember sitting in the audience with my jaw hanging open. My first thought was, "no wonder gay men idolized him." No, not because of his looks or his white T-shirt or leather jacket. But because all the emotion that I had thought was generally mine alone was on that screen. Watching Rebel's Dean made me realize how, even in 1984, most of the men I had seen portrayed in film were remote, calm, unemotional and detached. I don't recall seeing a man cry on screen (movie or TV) as I was growing up. The intensity of my feelings had long made me feel alien to the world around me. And here was a man openly crying, openly angry, openly caring for his friends. Openly expressing. I can only imagine how disturbing and liberating it would have been to see the film in 1955. If James Dean could make me feel a little less alone in 1984, imagine being a young gay man watching him in 1955. It was the first time a film felt personal. Messy. Emotional. Hard to watch. Amazing. Don't get me wrong, I didn't turn into a James Dean groupie or anything. I never read a biography; I don't have a shrine to him. The intervening years have mellowed much of my reaction to him. But I do remember that screening as if I were still slouched in my seat at Ohio University's small screening room in the Art Building.
The film centers primarily on Dean's time in LA, with brief flashbacks to his mother's death as a way to help explain his erratic behavior. This along with his father's distance (both physical and emotional) is used to explain Dean's anguish. At that level, it seems consistent with the theories of the 1950s about the social causes of "troubled youth" but a bit unsatisfying 50 years later. It's too reductionist. Like everyone's, Dean's life was complex, and I'm not sure that all of his behavior can simply be explained by the need for seeking approval of a remote father or dealing with abandonment issues. I found myself wondering about the impact of his being raised by an aunt and uncle. Or living on an Indiana farm. Or being at the Actors Studio. Or his sexual identity. Most of these are merely hinted at in the film or summarized in a single short scene or two. The film intertwines his on-going desire for his father's approval with his devotion to acting, providing a "behind-the-scenes" look at Rebel Without a Cause and Giant. We witness just a few of the ways in which he (and other actors) were manipulated by directors. Structurally, the film begins from a third-person point of view but soon switches to a first-person voice over, and screenwriter Israel Horovitz has said that to him this film feels like a 4th James Dean movie. Certainly the script points out the ways in which Dean's own personal life often ran parallel to the lives of the characters he portrayed. And Franco eerily recalls Dean. So this may not be that far off the mark, though one wonders if a James Dean movie can have the same impact now as it did even 20 years ago. However, for anyone who has wondered what James Dean was really like, this film provides an answer. If you have seen any of his films or have ever been curious about the man, you'll want to see this film.
In some theater or on some living room couch, screenwriter Israel Horovitz first saw James Dean: "Without knowing anything about his life, I, as a young kid looking at his films, felt that he was speaking to me, that he somehow understood my suffering." It seems that Dean wasn't just a gay icon, but rather an icon for young people struggling with the pain of adolescence. Of breaking free of parental or societal oppression. In other words, just about everyone. It's difficult to imagine a film actor evoking that kind of response nowadays. That domain seems to have shifted to people like Eminem. If James Dean had lived, he would be 70. Who would his later films have spoken to? Would he be as well regarded as he is having died at 24 years old? Or do we only lavish our devotion on those who did not have the time to live up to their promise, their potential? We have 3 films to consider. They'll have to be enough. Announced airdates for James Dean (times are ET/PT):
Please check your local listings for TNT to confirm ____________
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by Joe Steiff
For many years, the closest I got to actually seeing a James Dean film was those Levi ads that capitalized on a classic image from the film, Giant. But something about the name, about the life, about the man stayed with me. Laying dormant until I saw my first James Dean film: Rebel Without a Cause.
So I was excited to preview James Dean, TNT's 2-hour television movie directed by Mark Rydell, who actually knew the man. As a result, I have to assume that this film has a certain authenticity in its portrayal, and what a portrayal it is. James Franco (Freaks and Geeks, Spider-Man) is a powerhouse. Dean comes off as charismatic but highly damaged, and Franco makes it fascinating to watch. This is certainly not the "romantic" James Dean of my imagination, though one assumes a certain romanticizing of his life as portrayed.
Originally a feature film concept, James Dean went through a long development, initially at Warner Brothers, where a variety of people were considered for the lead: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Stephen Dorf. It's difficult for me to imagine any of them in the role, Franco has so completely made it his own. When he talks about his method of preparation, it seems eerily close at times to Dean's approach, potentially rife with the same pitfalls. In watching the film, I feel like I have actually met James Dean. And I'm not sure I would really want him as a friend. There's no doubt that he was talented. Or that he connected with the adolescent audience in a way that would make modern-day filmmakers envious. 
Joe Steiff is an independent filmmaker and teaches film at Columbia College Chicago; if you've never seen them, he heartily recommends reserving your August 6 evening to watch Rebel Without a Cause and Giant on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) -- check your local listings. Not only do they make a perfect companion viewing with James Dean, but also they are part of that rare collection of films that can be considered great.