Tonight's movie was "Junior Bonner" (1972), starring Steve McQueen and directed by Sam Peckinpah. McQueen plays Junior, an aging rodeo star, much like Cliff Robertson's role in "J.W. Coop", which was made the same year and which we saw a few months ago. Junior is headed for a meet in his hometown of Prescott, Arizona and when he arrives we see him drive up to the old family homestead, to the house he grew up in. The name on the mailbox is Ace Bonner, his father (played by Robert Preston). But the house is abandoned, Ace is nowhere to be seen, and bulldozers are parked nearby, awaiting a demolition.
Junior then goes to visit his mother (Ida Lupino), who is separated from Ace. She tells him that Ace is in the hospital, the result of a drunk driving accident. He isn't seriously hurt, and we soon discover that the film itself will not involve a heavy dramatic plot, and as the minutes pass we further observe that there won't be much plot at all. "Junior Bonner" is the simple story of a man following his dream, even as it threatens to break him. Rodeo culture, by 1972, is on it's way out. Maybe it still draws crowds in 2019, I don't know, but in the film it is portrayed as being a thing of the past. The point is, even if you would not ever go to see a live rodeo yourself, you can nevertheless get a feel for the culture by watching a well-made movie about it.
"Junior Bonner" is exceptionally well made, and it is the craftsmanship by Peckinpah and his attention to detail involving the setting of Prescott that kept me watching. I have mentioned in a previous blog or two that I am not a huge Sam Peckinpah fan, simply because I have watched a handful of his films and while I have found some to be mildly entertaining, I have rebelled at the notion - held by some critics and fans of cinema - that he is a directorial genius. I don't find that to be true at all, and I have stated in at least one prior blog that I think "The Wild Bunch" - regarded as an Epic by some - is really a bad film by any measure, regardless of the slo-mo violence that got the film such critical notice in 1969. If you watch that movie with an unbiased eye, you can see that it is torturously slow and boring, not even close to being a good Western let alone a film of classic status.. It only received acclaim because Sam copied "Bonnie and Clyde" and one-upped the graphic bloodshed in that flick to make up for the utter lack of an interesting story in his own.
However, to be fair to Peckinpah, he was a top-notch technician. He did know his camera angles and how to use close ups, especially in action scenes. Most of all he was a very good editor. This is why he could go on to make a picture like "Junior Bonner", in which there is no serious violence to be exploited as a gimmick, and make the movie entertaining despite a lack of story.
McQueen feuds with his brother Curly (Joe Don Baker), who has shunned the family occupation to become a wealthy land developer. It is Curly who has bought out their father's land and demolished his house, to build condominiums. He tries to recruit McQueen to work for him; to quit the rodeo circuit. But McQueen, even though he is broke, won't even consider Curly's offer.
Like his father Ace, whom he both protects and idolises, he is following a dream, however broken it has become. Riding broncs is all he knows how to do. He is good at it, or at least he used to be, and all he wants is one last chance to ride a terrible, red-eyed bull named "Sunshine", the wildest of them all, to prove - to himself and everyone else - that he can still do it.
In the context of rodeo rules, all it takes is 8 seconds. That's how long a rider has to stay on top of an aggressively bucking horse or bronco bull to win a contest. Just 8 seconds, but most riders can't do it.
The power of the movie is in it's celebration of rodeo culture and the people who live it. The only major plot point is Ace's desire, when he gets out of the hospital, to move to Australia to search for gold. He is 60, too old to ride anymore, and he has already extended another dream to it's expiration point, the finding of silver in Nevada. Ace is an unrepentant dreamer. It has cost him his marriage to Ida Lupino and the respect of one son, Curly. But Junior sticks by him, because he has followed his Dad into the rodeo riding profession. Now, as he is older and feeling the aches and pains, and is broke just like his Dad, he can empathize with what Ace was trying to achieve.......
Which was really just about following his dream of riding and competing in rodeos and living for the glory of winning, just like an athlete in any sport.
I should add that I have huge feeling for Kevin Durant and what he is going through. I am not even a Golden State fan (obviously), but just to see a guy come back when he wasn't healed from a previous injury, just to help his team, and then to experience another far worse injury.....
How horrible, y'know?
In a way, this is what "Junior Bonner" is about, just following your dream no matter what.
It's the same thing I've been reporting on concerning the career of Thomas Gabriel Fischer, who created Celtic Frost out of nearly nothing, in his life as a teenager in rural Switzerland.
I give "Junior Bonner" Two Thumbs Up, regardless of the limited appeal of the subject matter to today's audiences. To me, it is almost a documentary of the time and place of a rodeo in 1972 in Arizona, and of the people you would see there if you were in attendance.
What makes it so watchable is, as always, the acting.
Steve McQueen shines once again, in an understated role. Providing support are the great actors Ida Lupino, Ben Johnson, Robert Preston and Joe Don Baker. Plus the gorgeous Barbara Leigh as Junior's girlfriend.
Sam Peckinpah made a sweet movie about nothing much. As one character remarks, "If you've seen one rodeo you've seen 'em all". That remark could apply to life itself if you've been around long enough. But it couldn't account for the people in our lives or how we feel about them, even if our dreams are fading or if every day seems the same. /////
That's all I know for tonight. See you in the morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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