A
Love Song For Bobby Long is one of the more effective indie character studies
I’ve stumbled across since The Station Agent. It’s certainly restored
by ever-shaky faith in John Travolta. While it’s true that Ladder 49 was
okay and he salvaged Be Cool, I’ve pretty much become accustomed to skipping
Travolta films, but the premise of Bobby Long was intriguing and my instincts
proved correct this time around.
The
film begins with the death of Lorraine Will a troubled singer-songwriter who'd
amassed something of a cult following in and around New Orleans before her death.
Lorraine never makes an appearance in the film, but her presence is a prevailing
thread throughout. Before long we find out that Lorraine has an estranged daughter
in the person of Pursy (Scarlett Johansson) who is at the time living a trailer-trash
lifestyle with a slimy boyfriend whose idea of a romantic evening is some wine
and a new porno. When Pursy finds out that she’s missed her mother’s
funeral due to her boyfriend's flakiness, she packs it in and heads for New Orleans.
Much
of her life, Pursy has clung to the promise (or illusion) that her mother was
fixing up a great home and once it was ready she would send for her and they would
make a life together. Upon locating the home in question, Pursy finds a run-down
flop house of a dwelling, currently inhabited my two of her mother’s long-time
friends, Bobby Long (a washed-up, former literature professor, Travolta) and Lawson,
(Gabriel Macht) a protege of Long’s who has been writing Long’s memoir
for years. Both of whom are more or less down-and-out alcoholics who spend their
wasted days communicating with each other by means of famous literary quotes.
Clinging to their decaying romanticism and the fading notion that once Lawson’s
book is published they’ll both be living a life of long overdue largesse..
Though
Lorraine has willed full possession of the house to Pursy, Bobby and Lawson hide
this little detail from her, under the ruse that the house is to be divided among
the three of them. While Lawson is against the idea, he plays along for Bobby’s
sake, and the defining dynamic of the films first act, is the adversarial relationship
between Pursy and Bobby. They communicate primarily by taking pot-shots at each
other’s shortcomings, though even early on, we can detect a fondness that
underscores the barbs badinage. For Pursy’s part, she takes up residence
in the house, putting the feminine touch on the place, while looking for gainful
employment. During this we come to meet the various characters that have become
part of Lorraine’s sphere of influence. Though the salad days of the scene
that Lorraine once reigned queen over have long since gone to seed, her friends
are still fiercely loyal and eager to pass along their care and affection to Pursy.
Along
the way we are offered enough details to parse together the story of these down-trodden
but sensitive people. Of course it is Bobby Long whose story is key to the film,
and by the end of the second act we have a pretty good picture as to how and why
Bobby has arrived at his shabby station in life, and why he is still revered as
the unspoken king and poet laureate of these skid-romantics. Travolta’s turn
as Long is just quirky fun, but still grounded enough to pass as a would-be father
figure. It’s obvious that he’s having a great time fleshing out this
character, and his unpredictable nature makes Bobby Long someone you won't soon
forget and maybe Travolta's strongest turn since Pulp Fiction (unless I'm overlooking
something obvious).
Though
I wouldn’t put this performance on a par with Lost In Translation, I would
definitely say this is Scarlett Johansson’s second best film role. Both her
and Travolta manage to imbue the proceedings with a good measure of poignancy,
without stooping to cheap sentimentality - at least not often. I won’t give
away some of the more impacting revelations in the film, the major one certainly
doesn’t come as any too big a surprise. The supporting players - particularly
Gabriel Macht and Deborah Kara Unger, are solid, and everyone involved make you
forget you’re watching a movie, instead of a documentary about real characters
in America’s southland.
A
surprise visit by her loser boyfriend, is how she eventually finds out that she’s
been lied to about the disposition of the house, and as a result she responds
by angrily leaving her friends and puts the house up for sale. Of course all of
her friends band together and paint the house, in an attempt to apologize for
their sin of omission. Events conspire to make these trifling matters seem inconsequential
and the movie does tie things together in a touching and satisfying way.
A
Love Song For Bobby Long is lovely, compelling and never dull and though far from
being flawless, is one of those small sleepers that restore your faith in modern
movie-making.
