Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Film Film Love's "Primary" flashes back to Kennedy-era politics
Posted by Curt Holman @Curt_Holman on Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 10:27 AM
Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy, however, more closely resembles a modern media celebrity. We frequently see him addressing large groups and surrounded by adoring throngs. At one point we see a group of young woman rushing up from a distance, as if they’ve just spotted The Beatles. Presented by Andy Ditzler’s Film Love series at 7:30 p.m. tonight, “Primary” shows Kennedy sitting through a make-up session for a photographic portrait and, later, reveals a group of prospective voters watching him give a speech on TV. Compared to Kennedy, Humphrey seems merely life-sized.
“Primary” offers an early example of the kind of campaign journalism that would define the coverage of the 24 hour news cycle. Director Robert Drew and cameramen Richard Leacock and Andrew Mayles used newly-invented mobile cameras and lighter sound equipment that allow them to follow the candidates through crowds and listen in on conversations in automobiles. That fly-on-the-wall perspective on campaigns would become the standard technique, and “Primary’s” editor, D.A. Pennebaker, won an Oscar for his Clinton campaign film The War Room. If “Primary” looks old-fashioned today, it’s partly because it pioneers a cinema verite approach that technological changes would greatly improve.
The film unquestionably chronicles a bygone era: between the fashions and the black-and-white photography, some of the street scenes look more like the Great Depression than the dawn of “Mad Men’s” 1960s. There’s a famous fashion contrast between Humphrey, who wears a hat, and Kennedy, who lets nothing conceal his superb haircut. At times the film seems to record a competition between the country’s past and its future.
Humphrey comes across as a cheerful, feisty figure, with perhaps more of a populist touch than Kennedy. Addressing an auditorium of grumpy farmers, Humphrey disdains Washington politicians’ grasp on agricultural issues: “Frankly, they don’t know the difference between a corncob and a ukulele.” (Brendan Gleeson could do a great job playing Humphrey in a historical drama.) Kennedy, however, gives a speech with the kind of soaring rhetoric one expects from him, and comes across as a more inspirational figure. Robert Kennedy even makes a brief, chipper statement at one campaign stop.
“Primary’s” Direct Cinema approach creates the impression of being at a candidate’s elbow, shaking the hand of every passerby, even if they’re too young to vote. The film repeatedly plays their campaign jingles, each of which provides new lyrics to old standards, with Humphrey using “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” and Kennedy refitting “High Hopes.” The latter plays so often, you can only imagine how sick of it the actual members of the campaign became.
The film seldom captures the candidates in genuinely unguarded moments, although Kennedy looks tense as he smokes a cigarette and awaits election night returns. “Primary” reveals people voting by showing just their feet, which conveys a technological limitation more than the democratic process. Watching “Primary,” you wonder whether some of the little details represent choices made by the campaigns or creative decisions emphasized by the filmmakers after the fact. Just because it seems like a more innocent time, that doesn’t mean nobody’s being manipulated.
Primary, followed by “The Children Were Watching.” Tue., Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m. Film Love. The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce De Leon Ave. 404.876.8048.http://www.plazaatlanta.com/
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