New Cole Porter Biopic with Kevin Kline

[cookie]

I'm excited about this movie. I didn't know whether to post this article here or in Speakout. I decided to put it here so that people might discuss Cole Porter or movies, books, etc. about him beyond musical aspects. I know that I will make a point of going to see this movie.


June 20, 2004
Cole Porter's Two Biopics? They're Night and Day
By TODD S. PURDUM

IN "Night and Day," the so-bad-it's-almost-good 1946 biopic starring Cary Grant as Cole Porter, one of Porter's most poetic, haunting songs is sung early in the movie by a group of cherubic Christmas carolers standing in the snow outside his family's Indiana home.

In "De-Lovely," the new MGM biopic starring Kevin Kline as Cole Porter, the same song is sung — whispered, really — in the opening scene by a balding, dying Porter, at his piano in a wheelchair after the amputation of his right leg, alone in his Waldorf-Astoria apartment after the death of his wife of more than 35 years. He struggles, slowly, to pick out the notes, as he drifts back over his life.

In the still of the night,
As I gaze from my window
At the moon in its flight,
My thoughts all stray to you.

That contrast sums up the difference between Hollywood's last take on this authentic American genius — a take that hid Porter's homosexuality, dumbed down his songs and bowdlerized his lyrics — and the producer-director Irwin Winkler's new version, which celebrates Porter in all his complexities, with the help of contemporary musical performers from Alanis Morissette to Robbie Williams.

When Warner Brothers was making "Night and Day," Orson Welles cracked: "What will they use for a climax? The only suspense is: will he or won't he accumulate $10 million?" In fact, Porter may have had more private drama in his life than almost any of his peers. The truth just could not be told at the time.

Yes, he was born rich (from family lumber and mining interests) and made himself far richer with a list of gold-plated standards from "Night and Day" to "Anything Goes." He was educated at Yale and, briefly, Harvard Law School (where he roomed with Dean Acheson), studied composition in Europe and wrote songs through the 1920's to amuse himself and his friends in Venice or on the French Riviera.

But he was approaching 40 when he truly became a commercial success on Broadway; he spent the last third of his life as an intermittent invalid, often in horrible pain, after a devastating riding accident; and he wrote the greatest score of his life, "Kiss Me Kate," when he was in his late 50's, after some of the smart money had decided he was washed up. He died, at 73, in 1964, a lonely, morose alcoholic, summoning guests to dine in settings that had once sparkled with life and laughter, then refusing to eat.

Perhaps most paradoxically, Porter was married (mostly) happily and faithfully (in his fashion) to a beautiful Southern divorcée eight years his senior named Linda Lee Thomas, who had been abused by her first husband. She remained Porter's muse and confidante till she died, tolerating his relationships with a string of male lovers and presenting him with bejeweled cigarette cases on opening nights. Only when his pursuit of Hollywood beefcake grew dangerously indiscreet in the 1930's did Linda balk.

Most of this public and private tale is told in detail in "De-Lovely," which opens on July 2. As Mr. Kline's Porter reminisces about his life with Linda, played by that beautiful Southerner Ashley Judd, he confesses that while their physical relationship was take-it-or-leave-it, their intimacy was unmatched.

"The story itself always intrigued me," said Mr. Winkler, the producer of films as diverse as "Rocky" and " 'Round Midnight," who in recent years has branched into directing with movies like "Guilty by Suspicion" and "Life as a House." "The story of his marriage to Linda and still being a gay man seemed to me a very unusual kind of story, and I wanted to investigate it a lot more and find out more about what made it tick and made it work or not work."

In that quest, Mr. Winkler had the full support of Porter's estate, which was eager to keep his songs alive for a new generation and imposed no restrictions. The film is framed by Mr. Kline's narration, and unfolds in a varyingly effective mix of naturalistic vignettes and quasi-fantasy production numbers. Mr. Kline and Ms. Judd sing to each other in quiet conversation, while singers as diverse as Mick Hucknall, Natalie Cole and Elvis Costello unfurl a catalog of Porter's greatest hits, plus some comparative rarities (all of which they performed for comparative peanuts).

For the film's screenwriter, Jay Cocks, who grew up listening to both Porter and rock 'n' roll, "In the Still of the Night" amounted to a Rosetta stone from the beginning of the project. The song was written for the 1937 MGM musical "Rosalie." Nelson Eddy was reluctant at first to sing it — until it moved the studio boss, Louis B. Mayer, to tears — and it conjures up the essence of Porter, his life, his wife and loves.

"I wanted that to be the dramatic backbone," Mr. Cocks recalled in a recent telephone interview. "I was really obsessed with `In the Still of the Night.' When I was about 12, I saw a book of Cole Porter lyrics, and I remember seeing these lyrics printed on the page, as if they were a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins. They were nakedly honest and overwhelmingly intense. He wasn't being ironic. It's just beautiful."

Do you love me as I love you?
Are you my life-to-be, my dream come true?
Or will this dream of mine
Fade out of sight
Like the moon growing dim
On the rim of the hill
In the chill, still of the night?

To preserve Mr. Kline's ability to act such emotional songs, instead of just sing them, Mr. Winkler let him record them live on the set, instead of lip-synching to a prerecorded track, which is standard practice in movie musicals. The result is an unusual intimacy, in which a filmgoer feels more like an eavesdropper, and the usual postmodern Hollywood worry about whether audiences will accept characters bursting into song evaporates.

"When we did the movie of `Pirates of Penzance,' I was driven fairly mad," Mr. Kline recalled. "I said: `How can you act when you're having to lip-sync, and how can we prerecord it when we don't know exactly how it'll be performed? What if I'm hanging upside down?' They said that's how film musicals have always been done, and I said, `Well, it's wrong!' "

Mr. Kline, who is also actually playing the piano in the film about 90 percent of the time he appears to be doing so, added: "It wasn't about singing, it was about being the composer. The context is more important, and the acting. It stretches the convention and it bends it and breaks it." Because Porter's face and voice are virtually unknown to today's public, Mr. Kline said, he was freed from any burden of impersonation or imitation. "There's very little footage of him," Mr. Kline said. "I tried to wear my hair as he did, to dress as he dressed. But it was never about impersonation."

In its own way, "De-Lovely" is as fictional as "Night and Day." Songs written in the 1950's pop up out of context — but not out of place — to illustrate events of the 20's or 30's, as a mysterious character named Gabe (Jonathan Pryce) prods Porter to remember his past before ushering him into the great beyond.

Yet the filmmakers did meticulous research, turning up at least one nugget that has eluded published Porter biographies: Cole and Linda, perhaps inspired by the parental joys of their famous Jazz Age friends Gerald and Sara Murphy, conceived, but the pregnancy ended in miscarriage.

That episode plays out against the one musical interlude most likely to puzzle Porter purists: Sheryl Crow singing a mournful, minor-key meditation on "Begin the Beguine" that seldom if ever approaches the actual melody of the dance number immortalized in Artie Shaw's up-tempo clarinet version.

"Our key hope is that people would not look at this as an educational biopic, but as a look back at 70-year-old music that is very contemporary feeling, with provocative lyrics and great music," said Rob Cowan, one of the movie's producers. "The easiest way to accomplish that was to bring in people who sing popular music today, and a lot of the artists we went after write their own music. It was not just finding good singers. It was finding people who understand the craft of good songwriting."

Robert Kimball, artistic adviser to the Cole Porter Trusts and author of numerous books on Porter, the Gershwins, Irving Berlin and others, noted that the film's frankness on sexual matters brought home the point that contemporary singers and songwriters owe a big debt to Porter. "He wrote these adult love songs and pushed barriers a long way," he said.

At 73, Mr. Winkler is old enough to need no introduction to Porter's music. His earlier effort to film a biography of George and Ira Gershwin, to be directed by Martin Scorsese, fizzled, and he was eager to take another crack at the genre. "I grew up with this kind of music," he said. "I know all of what we lovingly call the great American songbook. So I went out and convinced my friends at MGM that this would be something that would make an interesting film."

"De-Lovely" received a studio green-light before the success of "Chicago" revived Hollywood's interest in film musicals, and Mr. Winkler and Mr. Cocks said they never conceived of their movie as a musical in the first place.

"I think as much as people loved `Chicago,' it's my perception that it was regarded as possibly a fluke," Mr. Cocks said. "A musical to me is 'It's Always Fair Weather.' I thought of this as a theatrical biography with music." He added: "I also thought to myself that if Cole Porter were lucky enough to have his last moments framed as a dramatic device, how would he live it? He would live it as a musical."

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | Help | Back to Top

[hornplayer]

I'm also really looking forward to this movie, Cookie. I love Porter's music in any context, and his life certainly must hve been "interesting" at least.

This is a movie I'll probably see more than once, and will purchase the DVD.

[lynn]

This will be a fabulous movie. I love Kevin Kline. He will do a fine job with the material.

I hope it opens nation wide

[cookie]

I wish we lived closer together. We could have "girls night out" to see the movie!

I love Kevin Kline too, Lynn. He's a versatile actor. I'm also impressed that he not only sings (which we knew he could do) but that he plays real piano in the movie! Good for him!

I'm also glad that they aren't shying away from the complexities of Porter's sexuality, though I do hope that it doesn't become a central focus of the film. Doesn't sound like that's the case. Good.

[Mike Goodbar]

Looking forward to Kline, but I have to admit that my pop-stars-singing-standards aversion kicked in when I read that Crow, Costello, et al will be doing the crooning, but I will try to stay open-minded. Just thankful Carly Simon wasn't listed.

I've played Cole Porter's tunes on gigs since I've started playing, and, as any jazz musician will tell you, his tunes are by no means easy. Unusual chord progressions, extended forms, sudden key changes; you gotta know his tunes -- you can't just wing 'em. Very sophisticated stuff.

[jazzy mary]

I've seen the previews a couple of times and I hate to say it, but it looks really bad. Then they have Alainis Morrisette, Elvis Costello and Dianna Krall singing his songs. For heaven's sake, why didn't they get *real* jazz singers who know their way around those fabulous lyrics? Where is Mary Cleere Haran!!!!!! Of course, I'll go see the film. My favorite Cole Porter is "I Concentrate on You".

[Jazzooo]

"Then they have Alainis Morrisette, Elvis Costello and Dianna Krall singing his songs. For heaven's sake, why didn't they get *real* jazz singers who know their way around those fabulous lyrics?"

Why not opera singers?

His music was sung originally by movie and pop stars, not jazz singers. Seems appropriate to me, as long as they don't screw it up by making it sound modern.

[clinthopson]

Of the great interpretors of Cole Porter's music, only Bobby Short and msybe Tony Bennett are still around.

IMHO Sinatra did it better than anybody. Ella was pretty good with it but I don't think the level of her interpretation matches her incomparable voice.

The lyrics are just as sophisticated as the music and how many singers can really do justice to the whole package.

Physically, Danny DeVito is a lot closer to Porter than Kline.

[jazzy mary]

Yeah, but you HAVE to have people who are sophisticated enough to know and understand a great lyric--Elvis may be. Again, Mary Cleere Haran would have been PERFECTION!!!! She's the greatest!

[hornplayer]

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

Yeah, but you HAVE to have people who are sophisticated enough to know and understand a great lyric--Elvis may be. Again, Mary Cleere Haran would have been PERFECTION!!!! She's the greatest!

when did Mary Cleere Haran become a Jazz singer? I've heard Diana do enough Porter to disagree with you, Mary, but then if you don't like her to start with, you're not going to like her doing Porter, either.

I dunno... I always thought Joe Williams was pretty good with a Porter tune...

I'd rather wait and see how the picture is than pick it apart before it's even released.

[clinthopson]

Originally Posted by hornplayer

I'd rather wait and see how the picture is than pick it apart before it's even released.

horny,

Just think about the people dissing Farenheidt 9/11 or Gibson's Jesus flick with out ever seeing it. It's the Amuurican way.

[jazzy mary]

Mary Cleere Haran is one of the best interpreters of the GAS around. There is scarcely anyone around who knows and understands Porter, Hart, Gershwin or Berlin tune better than her.

[lynn]

I don't think that had anything to do with their talent selection. It has everything to do with extending their commercial footprint and get out the fans to make more money.

That said, I went to IMDB.com and noticed the Diana Krall was also in the flick, or should I say Mrs. Costello.

I'm all for expanding Porter's awareness value. As long as I never hear a hard rap version of his music I think I'll be fine.

[Dibble]

Im looking forward to seeing this, but it will probably be an AGE before I do..

[lynn]

Well they have unleashed the media blitz on this and Alainis Morrisette was on one of the shows like The View this morning. She sang "Let's Do It". They should have gotten some good broadway singers or something.

[lynn]

Has anyone had the chance to see this yet?

[stonemonkts]

I haven't, but the NYT review of it wasn't too promising. Sounds like a real bow-wow.

[Jazzooo]

Two thumbs up from Ebert and Roper.

[clinthopson]

The LA Times reviewer really panned the flick, especially the singers.

[jazzy mary]

The film has been panned in the NY press. I'd rather read a good book about Porter or better even, put on the Ella Cole Porter songbook!

[cookie]

Still haven't seen it yet, but still plan to.

I have seen a couple clips of the singing in promos on teevee and am also apprehensive about whether the complete performances will appeal to me.

A few of my favorite Cole Porter song renditions:

"Love for Sale" by Dinah Washington

"Ridin' High" and "From this Moment On" by Ella Fitzgerald

"Everytime We Say Goodbye" by Ray Charles and Betty Carter

[clinthopson]

We listen to Ella's Cole Porter Songbook the other day. That's the way he should be sung.

Of course there's always Sinatra, Sass and Dinah who always put their mark on the great songs.

A helluva lot better than the current crop of screechers.