The movie starts at the end of the 1940s and Jackson Pollock, the renowned abstract expressionist is a feature in Life magazine. This is the beginning scene of “Pollock.” Not much is known about the movie and the art it holds other than being based on the book “Jackson Pollock: An American Saga” Little does the audience know this film is a look back into the life of an extraordinary painter, quite possibly the best painter of his time, even though he was called “an artist dedicated to concealment” and “a celebrity nobody knew.” Lead actor and director Ed Harris does a fantastic job bringing Jackson Pollock to the big screen by keeping “Pollock” as entertaining as it is informative about the abstract painter’s hardships and painting career in the 1940s.
Flashback to 1941 where the movie’s story officially begins. Jackson Pollock is living with his brother Charles in a tiny apartment in New York City doing more drinking than painting, that is until he meets Lee Krasner (played by Marcia Gay Harden) another abstract painter at the time. Lee is fascinated by more than just Pollock’s work she puts her career on the back burner to become Pollock’s companion, to help him stay off the booze and on the canvas. Lee also helps Pollock tremendously when selling his art she sets up meetings with Peggy Guggenheim and Howard Putzel, two world-renowned artists and art critics. Peggy Guggenheim offers Pollock his first one-man viewing at “Art of this century Gallery” on November 8th, 1943.Peggy also commissions Pollock to create an 8 by 20-foot mural for her townhouse giving him full artistic control.
Ed Harris does an amazing job directing “Pollock” but an even better job portraying the expressionist painter. The creation of the mural scene not only shows how brilliant an actor and director Harris is but how Jackson pulls abstract art from his head and strategically throws them on the canvas to create a masterpiece. Jackson struggles for weeks to find an idea that perfectly fits the canvas. Creating suspense the director cuts from Pollock’s eyes to the canvas then back to his eyes suddenly something clicks Pollock drops his cigarette and furious strokes of black paint fly up and down the white canvas. Pollock knows what he wants.
Throughout the entire movie, Jackson Pollock has been going through ups and downs from creating his mural and marrying Lee to not selling any paintings and binge drinking. Jackson Pollock died in 1956 from a drunk driving accident. This scene in the movie was tough to watch because you see Pollock struggling to stay sane and finally he just gives up. Jackson Pollock’s death was very tragic and a waste of so much talent. Pollock was forty-four years old when he died but he still had so much to accomplish, he could have created so many more beautiful abstract paintings. This is why his death is so tragic. The movie gives a good visualization of the abstract painter’s life with help from Ed Harris the director and leading actor I would give this movie a 5-star rating. If you are into dramatic movies with a great historical background it is a must watch.
