The Purple Rose of Cairo
We all like the movies. But some people absolutely love the movies. For some people, going to the movies is an escape so real and so important to them, it’s probably not healthy. Cecilia (Mia Farrow) is that type of person. Really though, with a dead end job and an abusive/out of work husband Monk, (played by Danny Aiello) who could blame her? Did I mention that there is a depression going on as well?
The new film out in the theatre is “The Purple Rose of Cairo” and, like all the films that come to her small town, Cecilia (Mia Farrow) loves it. In fact, she seems obsessed. She goes back to see it again and again. And then, all of the sudden, one of the characters in the film talks to her. He is “Tom Baxter” explorer, adventurer extraordinaire in a film that is wonderfully madcap and screwball, and this is not in her imagination, because everyone else in the theatre hears it too. They are shocked. Even more so when he leaps from the screen and whisks Cecilia out of the theatre- its madness, it’s unthinkable. The other characters on the screen don’t know what to do. Soon the studio bigwigs in Hollywood are called, and they call the actor Gil Shepard who played Baxter in the film (Jeff Daniels). This could be very bad for his career.
Meanwhile, Baxter is in love with Cecilia, but he has a few things to learn; like first of all, the screen doesn’t fade out when he kisses a woman. Additionally he learns, the fake money that he has in his pocket doesn’t work in the real world.
“The Purple Rose of Cairo” is a delight. It is an ode to a bygone era. It is a fantastical romance that keeps its feet on the ground. It is a hilarious Hollywood satire, and it is a film with a very good ending. The viewer can feel he or she is watching a Woody Allen film through the dialogue, the familiar jazz score and the beautiful tones of cinematographer Gordon Willis. However if you wanted to suggest a film to a person who doesn’t necessarily like Woody Allen films, this would be a good one to introduce. "The Purple Rose of Cairo" is plot driven, romantic, funny, and packed very tightly into less that 90 minutes. Jeff Daniels is excellent. The onscreen film “The Purple Rose of Cairo” is a blast and Daniels dual identity as career-concerned Gil Shepherd and doe-eyed romantic Tom Baxter is quite a feat and one he surely had a ball concocting.
The film has a warm feeling to it. It feels good in its nostalgia for the black and white struggles of the depression era, its love for film and its smartness for dialogue.
Story: A Depression era depressed and oppressed housewife gets a thrill when a character in a movie jumps off the screen and into her arms.
Acting: B+ Daniels is wonderful, so is everyone else.
Visuals: Gordon Willis.
Originality/Innovation: A Fantasy, romance, depression, comedy, satire, period piece.
Enjoyability Grade: B+ See above.
Overall Grade: A Really good ending to a really good film.
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