Internationally celebrated for socially and politically aware pictures
that authentically document American lives, John Sayles is one of
the most revered figures in modern-day independent film. Sayles
has the uncommon right to final cut and can lay claim to complete
‘ownership’ of his movies more than many other filmmakers.
Like John Cassavetes before him, he has repeatedly realised his
highly personal, low-budget productions with the pay checks from
mainstream studio work. (While Cassavetes earned such funds as an
actor, Sayles has worked successfully behind the scenes as a script
doctor and writer-for-hire.)
Social realism and science fiction
Born in New York, the director made his feature debut
with the modestly budgeted Return of the Secaucus
Seven (1980), financed by a number of scripts written
for films produced by Roger Corman (including Piranha
and Battle Beyond the Stars). A New Hampshire-set
ensemble drama about the perils of turning 30, the
film won Sayles a cult following and was awarded the
Special Jury Prize at Sundance in 1981. Setting a
blueprint for most of his later films, the director
both wrote and edited the picture.
Subsequent features confirmed his humane approach to a
range of subject matter, including relationships both
homosexual (Lianna) and heterosexual (Baby, It’s You).
Set in modern-day Harlem, 1984’s The Brother From
Another Planet proved to be a thoroughly unique piece
of science fiction. The film’s lead actor, Joe Morton,
reappeared in a number of the director’s later movies,
forming part of a regular ‘Sayles stock’ of actors.
(Other recurring faces include Chris Cooper, Angela
Bassett and Kris Kristofferson.)
In the late 80s, Sayles continued to helm smart,
classy and complex features, winning acclaim for the
moving mining drama Matewan (1987) and the following
year’s Eight Men Out, a historical sports film
examining corruption in baseball. A presumed affinity
with the left-wing sensibility of Bruce Springsteen’s
lyrics led to Sayles’ shooting music promos for The
Boss, most notably Born in the USA.
Passion Fish and Limbo
1992’s Passion Fish won Sayles further exposure. An
earnest and perceptive account of the relationship
between two middle-aged women (one a white actress,
the other a black nurse), the film shares certain
similarities with Sayles’ most recent film, Sunshine
State (2002). Showcasing some gutsy acting from Mary
McDonnell and Alfre Woodard, it’s a carefully paced,
lengthy piece that never feels less than real. Sayles’
screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award. A
second Oscar nod came later with his script for Lone
Star (1996), a Tex-Mex murder mystery that masterfully
interweaves past and present life in a border town.
The director’s feel for a region’s history also
informs the Alaska-set Limbo (1999), which blends
genres in a similarly intriguing fashion. Initially a
moving romance between a reserved divorcee (Sayles
regular David Strathairn) and a Country &
Western-singin’ single mum (a never-better Mary
Elizabeth Mastrantonio), the film unpredictably turns
into a captivating survival adventure. Limbo’s sparky,
colourful screenplay and powerful lead performances
make it a perfect introduction to Sayles’ incomparable
oeuvre.
Chris Wiegand
