Coming in at number three was his performance as Lloyd Dobler in
Say Anything; number four was Buck Weaver in Eight Men
Out; and finishing up in the number five spot, Craig Schwartz
in last year's Being John Malkovich. But clocking in at number
one - the all-time best John Cusack performance ever - Rob Gordon
in High Fidelity.
A retro-record-shop owner, who's just been dumped by his live-in
girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle), Rob Gordon begins to deconstruct
his life based on his top five worst break-ups of all time going
all the way back to the seventh grade. After all, who doesn't remember
the first time you were driven to adolescent tears at the mercy
of someone blissfully unaware?
Rob's
current flame, Laura, doesn't even make his top five until Rob finds
out she's living with "sensitive, new age" Ian (Tim Robbins). Suddenly,
Laura, because Rob can't stop seeing her having sex with Ian, is
promoted to the number 5 spot. Turns out, it's not the girl he can't
get over; it's his bruised male ego.
Bruised ego notwithstanding, Rob is determined to get Laura back,
to get his ego out of defense and back into offense. He figures
if he can make contact with the other top four in the hit parade
he would be able to fix himself and get Laura back. As each mythically
proportioned ghost is confronted, Rob becomes more and more able
to see things clearly. The clearer things get, the more he realizes
how much he loves Laura.
But Rob is unable to move forward because - what would be the point?
He's surrounded by go-nowhere music snobs (the sweetly meek Todd
Louiso and Jack Black) who would rather exert their music snobbery
than sell a record. And he can't fire them because they come to
work every day even though they were hired for part-time, two days
a week. They would rather exist in this safe, incubated world that
has memorized the past than move forward in a world that is changing
around them.
But
don't get me wrong: Rob's no misunderstood hero. He's unable to
understand anything but his record collection, which he alphabetizes
autobiographically. He has learned that it's the beginnings and
endings of relationships that are the most memorable, not the middle
part. Of course, learning how to enjoy the middle part is what the
film is ultimately about, the high fidelity of it all.
Rob's story is told directly to us by Rob himself, a highly satisfying
way to solve the problem of adapting a beloved cult favorite into
a movie. Nick Hornby's tightly paced writing is therefore preserved.
Not only do you have it delivered like one long monologue, but you
have an actor (who also co-wrote the script along with some of his
Grosse Pointe Blank pals, D.V. DeVincentis, Scott Rosenberg
and Steve Pink) who obviously gets the tone and can deliver it on
the money.
The
ever-versatile Frears is in the groove with High Fidelity,
proving adeptness for high-speed comedy usually reserved for the
youngerkind, and giving him a nice break from films like the somber
The Hi-Lo Country and Mary Reilly. Most surprising
is the playful structure the film achieves (much like the novel)
where time and place are relative and you're not sure what's coming
next - three increasingly absurd takes of the same scene, or the
sudden appearance of Bruce Springsteen strumming chords and offering
romantic advice. More impressive still is how Frears and Cusack
are able to maintain the continuity of the monologue throughout
the film shoot; you'd never know it wasn't all done on the same
day.
By this time, the Academy ought to give out awards for Best Soundtrack
since more and more the music is becoming as important as the original
score. High Fidelity would be nothing without its music,
with songs by The Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan and The Kinks. No
other film will get thee to a record store faster, that is a guarantee.
Lisa Bonet makes a memorable appearance as a singer who briefly
captures Rob's broken-hearted attention, reminding everyone that
she should work more. Sister Joan Cusack pops in for her typically
well-timed cameo, and Jack Black adds some crackle even beyond what's
shown in the trailer, though he's just on the verge of overdoing
it.
But what High Fidelity really has to offer is a cinematic
elevation of people we've all seen and experienced, some of us up
close and personally. Those guys and girls who lurk in every video
store, book store, comic book store, and especially, record store,
who know everything, it seems, yet cannot quite relate to the world
at large. They are now forever preserved in celluloid so that anyone
can short cut to them, "He's just like that guy in High Fidelity."
William Goldman said that good writing is when you get the story
you expect but not in the way you expect it. That sums up what makes
High Fidelity so engaging. You know Rob Gordon is going to
get out of Never Never Land, but you'll be captivated by his journey
every step of the way.
The Grifters - not only a triumph for Frears (earning a Best
Director Oscar nomination), but for Cusack, who delivered number two
of his top five performances ever.