CS Weekly Archive > The Big Picture > 7/24/09

To Tell the Truth:
Seven of the Best Biopics

by jenelle riley

CS Weekly's Jenelle Riley takes a look at one of Hollywood's favorite staples: the biopic.

Truth is often stranger than fiction, which might be why audiences are so drawn to filmic biographies. Everyone from Gandhi to Ed Wood has gotten the royal treatment on screen. But which biopics stand out amongst the crowd? We help you wade through the true stories with seven of our picks. We tried to avoid the films that glossed over the darker parts of a subject's life (Ray) or movies that weren't straight-up biographies—for example, Bob Fosse's All That Jazz could not have been more autobiographical (or brilliant), but doesn't quite fit the bill.

Fear Strikes Out (1957)
Screenplay by Ted Berkman and Raphael Blau
Based on the book by James A. Piersall and Albert S. Hirshberg

Depictions of mental illness onscreen are always a risky venture, and films of this era were not known for their sensitive portrayals of the insane. But in telling the story of major league baseballer Jimmy Piersall (a pre-Psycho Anthony Perkins) screenwriters Ted Berkman and Raphael Blau treat their characters with dignity and respect. Even the father who pushes Piersall towards his breakdown, wonderfully played by Karl Malden, is a complex, three-dimensional character. He is undoubtedly driven, obsessed with making his son a star athlete, but he is also loving and doting, which makes Jimmy crave his acceptance all the more. When Jimmy finally breaks down on the field, climbing a fence as he screams at his father, it doesn't feel over the top in the least. It feels inevitable.

Lenny (1974)
Screenplay by Julian Barry
Based on his play

Director Bob Fosse was clearly drawn to real-life characters—as mentioned above, his 1979 musical All That Jazz was a thinly veiled autobiography, and his final film was 1980's Star 80, which detailed the life and death of Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratton. But his masterpiece remains this offbeat biography of the fast life and mysterious death of stand-up comic Lenny Bruce (played here by Dustin Hoffman). Julian Barry's script wisely incorporates Bruce's actual material, as there's no substitute for the real thing, and much of his race-baiting, scatological humor remains shocking even 30-plus years later. The script uses a unique framing device, interviewing the three people closest to Bruce—his wife Honey (Valerie Perrine), mother (Jan Miner), and agent (Stanley Beck)—in a documentary style. It's a fascinating choice, allowing the audience to see Bruce as those closest viewed him, and juxtaposes these talking-head pieces with scenes of his stand-up so we can judge for ourselves.

Raging Bull (1980)
Screenplay by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin
From the memoir Raging Bull: My Story by Jake La Motta, with Joseph Carter & Peter Savage

Widely regarded as one of the best movies ever made, Martin Scorsese's violently beautiful, black-and-white masterpiece is, at its core, a Greek tragedy about one man's downfall. The man is question is Jake La Motta (Robert De Niro), a middleweight boxer who was destroyed by his own rage and jealousy. Co-screenwriter Mardik Martin reportedly acknowledged the unoriginality of this plot, saying, "The trouble is the damn thing has been done a hundred times before—a fighter who has trouble with his brother and his wife and the mob is after him." But what brings this particular story to life, aside from riveting performances from a flawless cast, is how Martin and co-writer Paul Schrader make the battles outside the boxing ring just as breathtaking as the ones inside. No one is safe from La Motta's hair-trigger temper; in one famous scene, he shifts from talking about a TV set to accusing his wife (Cathy Moriarty) of cheating on him. The script also bookends La Motta's career highs with footage of an older, overweight champ practicing lines for his sad little stand-up comedy act. It's a startling juxtaposition, especially considering De Niro packed on over 60 pounds in real life to play the latter La Motta. The story covers all of La Motta's disgraces—jail, fights, addictions—pulling absolutely no punches.

Malcolm X (1992)
Screenplay by Arnold Perl and Spike Lee (Lee also directed)
Based on The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X

It takes a filmmaker bigger than life to bring the story of controversial African-American leader Malcolm X to the screen, which is why this film remains Spike Lee's greatest achievement. Lee and co-screenwriter Arnold Perl took on the unenviable task of adapting Malcolm X's dense, thorough autobiography to the screen and managed to make a movie that is both informative and entertaining, with a perfect performance by Denzel Washington in the title role. Essentially, Lee and Perl have given us three films in one. The first part focuses on Malcolm Little, whose father is murdered by the Ku Klux Klan and whose mother is driven to insanity. The second section details his prison years, where he becomes a follower of the Nation of Islam. The third section details his life as Malcolm X, including his marriage to Betty Shabazz (Angela Bassett) and his journey to Mecca. When Malcolm X meets his inevitable end at the hands of an assassin, we mourn all his incarnations.

Elizabeth (1998)
Screenplay by Michael Hirst

Forgot the unnecessary sequel, The Golden Age, everything one needs to know about Queen Elizabeth the First is captured in this film. Having been bored by years of dull interpretations of history, writer Michael Hirst wisely plays up the romance and espionage of this true story. A luminous Cate Blanchett became a star in the title role, which undoes any previous notion about "The Virgin Queen." In fact, when we first see Elizabeth, she is lusty and full of life, dancing and cavorting with others until she is called to the deathbed of her half-sister, Queen Mary. His dialogue crackles from the beginning. "When I look at you I see nothing of the king, only that whore, your mother. My father never did anything so well as to cut off her head," Mary snaps, prompting Elizabeth to retort, "Your Majesty forgets he was also my father." When Mary passes, Elizabeth ascends to the throne and finds herself surrounded by enough backstabbing and scheming to fill a dozen soap operas. There's also an epic romance thrown in, in the form of Lord Robert Dudley (Joseph Fiennes), Elizabeth's lover who can never be her husband. History comes alive.

Kinsey (2004)
Screenplay by Bill Condon (also directed)

Writer-director Bill Condon almost made this list for another biopic—his Oscar-winning Gods and Monsters, which detailed the twilight years of forgotten film director James Whale. But his script for Kinsey edges that one out slightly because of its ability to find wrenching drama and sharp humor in the most unlikely of places. The film details the life of Professor Alfred Kinsey (Liam Neeson), from his repressed upbringing to being heralded as a pioneer in the field of sex research. The early scenes are fun and comedic, with much of the humor arising from misunderstandings about sexuality. Among them: a young couple is shocked to learn there's more than one position, Kinsey believes a man lost his virginity to a horse when he mishears the pronunciation of "whores," and Kinsey's wife Clara (Laura Linney) has to demonstrate her husband's size on a too-small ruler. But as Kinsey's research intensifies, so does the drama, particularly when the good doctor becomes involved with a research assistant played by Peter Sarsgaard. The film doesn't whitewash Kinsey's shortcomings—he could be distant, cold, and arrogant—but it ultimately heralds his work. The penultimate scene features an interview with a subject (Lynn Redgrave) who reveals how his work affected her life and led her to acknowledge her own sexuality. It's a beautifully crafted monologue that both breaks and warms the heart.

Milk (2008)
Screenplay by Dustin Lance Black

Sometimes, less is more. Harvey Milk was many things—a lieutenant in the Navy, a diving instructor, a teacher—before becoming the first openly gay politician elected to public office. The tales of Milk's life and adventures could probably fill several movies, but the brilliance of Dustin Lance Black's Oscar-winning script is that it chooses to begin its story on the eve of Milk's 40th birthday. As brilliantly played by Sean Penn (who also won an Oscar), Milk tells his lover Scott Smith (James Franco) that he has never lived a life of importance. The pair move to San Francisco, where the story truly begins as Milk becomes a crusader in the gay community. The film also condenses events, leaving out an election here or there in order to propel the story, but Black preserves the spirit of Milk's life and achievements. He also manages to capture all the colorful characters that surrounded Milk, without shortchanging any of them. From Smith to Cleve Jones (Emilie Hirsch) to Anne Kronenberg (Allison Pill), every character establishes their personality within a few brief lines. Perhaps most impressive, Black even ekes out an understanding, if not sympathy, for Milk's assassin, Dan White (Josh Brolin). With a remark from Milk about how he might be "one of us," and an obvious desire to do right by his community, White's frustration is palpable. The killer becomes all too human—making the tragedy even greater.

Jenelle Riley would like the movie of her life to star Zooey Deschanel. Or Ryan Gosling.

Raging Bull courtesy MGM Home Entertainment
Elizabeth courtesy Universal Home Entertainment

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