American Splendor – A Breakout Experiment
Rarely does a movie arrive that transcends the norms of video production and dares to experiment. Such a movie is “American Splendor”, a biopic about the life of Harvey Pekar, and the impact of having a comic book had on his life
The movie, from the point of being experimental, breaks down many conventional film borders. For example, minutes into the movie you are introduced to the real Harvey Pekar, on an all-white set with random furniture, in a fashion which creates the feel of “behind-the-page”, as if he were standing on a comic book panel.
The film is very unlike most movie-versions of a comic book in that it is not about a superhero, it is not filled with much action or drama, and however in the style of all comic book films, it is filmed in a way that creates high-contrast colors, action-shots from low angles and cuts on action.
Also in the style of comic book movies you are introduced to very colorful distinct characters. The hero Harvey Pekar, an ordinary cynical no-nonsense man is an unlikely hero in this biopic. His best friend Toby is the archetype stereotypical nerd to the point that you almost doubt he really exists. His wife Joyce is one of the most introverted psychologically-driven characters in film. His unofficial daughter is the most atypical girl for her age. In addition you meet a barrage of artists who draw the comic series.
The entire movie is narrated by the real Harvey Pekar, whose constant voice reminds the viewer that this is all a true story. Several scenes, whenever necessary, are given a small comic-book style scene change box in the corner of the beginning.
Some scenes throughout the movie move through artificial comic panels, giving the feel that they have actually taken this comic book and turned it’s events real, rather than the other way around.
When Harvey Pekar goes onto the David Letterman show in the film, they cut from shots of Paul Giamatti (Pekar) “backstage” dressed exactly as Harvey was in those shots, then show the TV screen in the green room which is showing the actual original broadcasts of Pekar. Curiously, the one time they did not do this was the last time that Pekar was on David Letterman, when he insulted Letterman and the audience. Perhaps the original footage had been destroyed.
One of the biggest moments of experimentation of the film, towards the end, is where Giamatti appears in the same set which Pekar himself had been narrating from, and the white behind him slowly fades into an animated scene from the comics around him, with real footage inside of animated windows, lines moving to create the scene as Giamatti walks across the set. This seemed like the reverse scenario of Roger Rabbit, putting real people in an animated world briefly, like he was talking directly from a panel of his comic.
Other than this, regular scenes also cut from shots of things that happened in the comic book, filmed from the same angle as it was drawn in the comic, and then you are shown the exact same events on the original comic panel. This serves to remind the viewer of how Harvey’s entire life is superimposed onto the page.
Musically, the movie sticks to classic jazz music. However, the tone of the movie is never restrictive. The music always seemed selected for the mood of the shot, so even though it is all jazz, it always invokes a different feeling.
Perhaps one thing to ponder in the movie, several times that occurs but may go unnoticed; the camera randomly shifts to a shot of Pekar’s beverage of choice – orange soda.
Filed under: American Splendor Reviews