Gunshy
A Study of Ambiguity and Evil
William Petersen, known for his long lasting role as Grissom in the CSI television series , did some feature film work in the nineties. He is remembered by some for his role in Manhunter , the first [least glamourous ,though probably best] film in the Hannibal Lecter ark...and he is perhaps not remembered at all for his role in an amazingly well written Noir film released in 1998 in which he played a washed out writer Jake Bridges , a broken man in search of a story and of renewed creative vitality . Gunshy has everything a cult movie should have : Sex- or rather , controled lust - brutality, death , and yes , love and renewed life and birth . But this production fascinated me mostly for it's careful delineation of the timeline and stepping stones that bring our heroes closer and closer to self-annhilation. This etiology ( to use a medical term) , of the illness that afflicts the writer and the others -- until good sense , or a semblance thereof, is restored , is instructive.
The Legbreaking enforcer who plays the 'Bad Guy ' in the film, ( Frankie , played by Michael Wincott ) has grown up in a culture of violence. His loyalties and loves are all determined by this environment. He feels comfortable in it, though he does have thoughts of leaving this behind. The " Good Guy " has lost his footing in the world that he knows , one of semi-glamourous writer working for mainline newspapers, one in which his writing is known as exemplary. The interesting thing about this plot is that the archetypes which govern most plots involving good and evil have been reversed. Here the figure of Christ the saviour is actually played by The Gangster Frankie, The figure of Judas is filled by the one who would normally be perceived as good- the writer with a sick soul. The serpent in this paradise is played by a somewhat Satanic police officer, he who should in fact be the paragon of virtue.{ He says to Jake whom he is using , as only the devil incarnate could :
" You're mine, Your eyes are mine, your ears are mine, your dick is mine ..the fact is every step you take you take for me" }
Diane Lane in the role of the lovely Melissa plays The loving figure of Mary ( or one might say of the two Mary's in one , both mother and whore ) : she who will love whomever needs her, perhaps giving of herself too indiscriminately in the hope of saving what she loves. ....
All of these characters are flawed and undeniably intertwined by complexities of need and want that leave them faced with decisions and compromises that can only be seen as painful from the observation booth of the cinema seat.
Frankie has simple ethics, but they work. These are summed up basically as : An eye for an eye, or at least, Break bones for Dollars owing.
" I like to hurt people who deserve to get hurt "
The Father figure,( played by Michael Byrne --shiver me timbers, this is 'good' acting of Evil ) arguably the most primally evil character of the plot , protector and nurturer of Frankie , sends him on missions of avenging . These he performs unquestioningly. The writer, with his complex ,somewhat dysfunctional morality and intelectualised view of the world starts a wobble in Frankies unwaverng orbit. Both men admire the other and both envy the strengths of the other. Frankie asks Jake to be his teacher-- and so is introduced into the story what is perhaps the most important Character of this film -- The book Moby Dick, a novel by Herman Melville.
The theme of reading , and of the healing nature of books is a counterpoint to the writers story of his failure at his craft.
Foreshadowing the choices that will ultimately be made , Jake tells his student , as they discuss Moby Dick :
" I mean that caring about someone and loving someone , that connection , is more important than whether we live or die , whether we're rich or poor , whether we owe someone or not. "
In the end, Frankie must commit the one act he has prided himself in avoiding all his life. He must kill . Parricide is his only salvation from the knotted complexities of his perceived uncomplicated world.
All pay a price to the carnally uncompromising world we live in. Melissa betrays her love for Frankie by allowing the seductive spinner of words to lure her into his world so he can satisfy his creative needs... Frankie will lose the illusion of loyal bonding, both to his father figure whom he kills and to his Melissa whom he almost kills, when she admits to having transgressed-- though the actual act of lust is never acknowledged, merely alluded to as a feeling of caring. And Jake will lose his freedom, at least temporarily , the price for his transgression of luring Frankie into a setup and abusing his trust. This apparently altruistic act of giving affords his new friend the chance to escape from the labyrinth of the cold streets of Atlantic City.
The Good guy is bad, the Bad guy is good ---It is hard to decide which, if any of these puppets in the circus , is the least slimy. The only figure with an untarnished view of the world [and who evokes a somewhat reluctant admiration from this reviewer, for his authenticity] - is Pops, the one who unquestioningly embraces Evil in it's purity--if the reader will allow the oxymoron . The Woman is , in the end , the one whose life is the most coloured by the two very opposite males to whom she gives of herself. Amongst all the death and mayhem there is a noteworthy reference at the end , of a new life to be borne as in the final minutes of dialog we learn she will be bearing Frankie a child. As Pops , Evil as he is , recognises in the film :
"There is nothing like a sons love for his father."
Ultimately the peacemaker in the Drama is the female, the Mother figure. She will risk losing one man to whom she is bonded by life history, To save the other. Yet this very sacrifice, this 'pound of flesh' is what ultimately saves her Frankie-- for the morally bankrupt writer gets a taste of goodness in her arms and finally sees that the words he spoke to Frankie [ as quoted above] , must apply to himself as well . What she does , although the flattering attentions of the seducer do appeal to her, she does for love. Interestingly, she saves them both, for in the end Jakes love for her which began as a fixation { Melissa you are the one thing in my life that makes sense to me } progresses and becomes selfless enough that he will relinquishes his desire for her :
" Everything I said to you I meant- you've got to believe that "
Prosaically, one might say : Life goes on. As Jake says at the end , as he reflects in his prison cell :
" It's funny - people you don't expect to love are the ones you never forget. "
The english-linguistic melting pot has created three categories to accommodate the ambiguities that surround Evil and the many flaws of humanity. From within the English language We speak of The Good, of The Bad and of Evil. The two main protagonists struggle with the polarities of Good and Bad, the one purely Evil character, terrifying in his unwavering belief in his view of things is the Crime-boss, Pops. The one character in the film who is perhaps closest to the logic of nature , is of course the Female, Melissa, who, though she could have been a femme fatale and embraced the dark side , manages instead to bring two men out from beneath the shadows of corruption and Evil with a finesse that the actress Diane Lane so admirably portrays.
The film ends on an understated cliffhanger , as our redeemed gangster asks his intelectual mentor : "What should I read next ? I'm looking for a good book to read..."
I do wish the writer Larry Gross had suggested something for us to dig our eyes into.
BOOKS RULE !!!
This film is available on DVD and if Movieland ( 1972 St. Catherine Street West ) don't have it in their collection --- they certainly ought to .
