Dirs. Scott McGehee/David Siegel, US, 2005, 105 mins
Cast: Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche, Flora Cross
The career of Scott McGehee and David Siegel seems to be one of diminishing returns. They first appeared in 1994 with Suture, an edgy, intelligent thriller, but followed it with what can only be described as “soft noir”, a reworking of Max Ophuls’ The Reckless Moment (1948) called The Deep End that dispensed with the luminous black-and-white photography, the suspense and, well, any sense of drama, really. Now it seems the little talent they had has melted away into mush - which is exactly what they’re making.
Not that the premise of The Bee Season isn’t interesting. An adaptation of Myla Goldberg’s novel, it concerns a wealthy Jewish academic who decides to use his obsession with the mystical teachings of the Kabbalah as a way to help his gifted daughter through her spelling bee competition. This, in turn, alienates his wife and son, both of whom are struggling to cope with his domineering religious stance within the family. All four characters are in search of a faith and, as the film develops, it becomes clear that they can only pursue it by rebelling against the father.
This is not, though, an attack on religion – quite the opposite. It’s that rare film that takes faith seriously, even to the point of having characters experience visions and levitate in moments of spiritual ecstasy. Indeed, the sequences where the girl (Flora Cross) transcends the mundane surroundings of the competition hall and sees letters in the form of animated creatures or flowers are the most eerily beautiful in the film. But her revelations only come after a struggle with the oppressive views of her father – the real target of the film is the way patriarchal dogma can stifle other beliefs. And in an age of increasing religious tensions, this approach gives the film a pleasing topicality, especially in the equal weight it gives to faiths as far removed as Judaism and Hare Krishna.
And yet, it’s precisely this even-handedness that deprives the film of any dramatic bite. Because it’s unwilling to portray any belief system too negatively, it fights shy of really defining them. And this problem carries through to every element of the narrative. The spelling bee competition is only sketched out in time-lapse montages – there’s no exposition of what this competition actually is, what it consists of, what it means. Consequently, there’s no sense of tension or achievement in the girl’s ordeals. McGehee and Seigel’s approach to drama seems to be so subtle and underplayed as to give the audience no highpoints of conflict whatsoever – thus the whole plays at a monotone level leaving the irritating musical score to carry on an emotional journey all by itself.
The directors – and, one supposes, the critics who, blinded by the film’s worthiness, have given it cautiously positive reviews – would like to believe they’ve crafted an intelligent art-house discussion on religion in the form of a melodrama. Actually, it’s the other way round. The Bee Season is nothing more than a straightforward tale of family strife with knobs on. It comes complete with syrupy happy ending and hugs all round. I can’t help feeling that a more conventional, possibly cruder, mainstream film would have told the audience a great deal more about the subject matter and given them a more satisfying emotional journey. My advice – watch Spellbound, then read a book on comparative religion. You’ll have a much better time.
Mike Bartlett
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