Review: Tetro (2009) ****
Maribel Verdú and Alden Ehrenreich in Tetro
Despite the drubbing it received by narrow-minded critics, the underrated Youth Without Youth proved that the creative fires still burn brightly within Francis Ford Coppola. Perhaps because of the frosty reception that film was given, Coppola realized he truly could make the kinds of films he wanted to make regardless of whether they were embraced or not.
With the autobiographically inspired Tetro, the director steps back a few paces from the ruminative fancies of Youth to make a film that is more approachable and more personal, but no less creatively vigorous. This is the work of a man still in love with making movies who has the confidence to take creative risks and to challenge himself. The result might not be flawless, but it’s a joy to watch.
Vincent Gallo and newcomer Alden Ehrenreich play two estranged brothers in a creative family of Italians torn apart by tragedy and by a domineering father (Klaus Maria Brandauer). Tetro the elder brother has retreated to Argentina where he carries on a Bohemian lifestyle but seems to be squandering his talent as a writer. When his younger brother Bennie shows up to reconnect, old family tensions are brought to the surface and family secrets are brought to light.
Coppola’s first original screenplay since The Conversation 35 years ago is comprised of the stuff of melodrama, but the director has something altogether deeper and more personal in mind than a simple family squabble. Beginning with the gorgeous black and white cinematography by Mihai Malaimare, Jr. (Youth Without Youth) and continuing with the 1950s-looking Argentinean shooting locations, the film’s old-fashioned style conflicts with the modern automobiles that the characters drive and the cell phones they use. The effect is that the film takes on a curiously dreamy and timeless feeling. It’s the first clue that the film exists in its own reality.
Taking full advantage of the artificial memoryscape he has created, Coppola uses recurring images, motifs and story fragments that imbue Tetro with a meditative, fugue-like quality as though it’s a tale told by an unseen narrator working through shifting remembrances of the past. Dreams fuse with reality and the present merges with the past as the lines between characters blur. Ultimately, the narrative folds in on itself until finally it takes the shape of a Möbius strip-like puzzle that is simultaneously universal and personal.
It sounds pretentious and in lesser hands it might come off that way, but there’s a twinkle in Coppola’s eye that manifests itself in a subtle, impish, Felliniesque humor and exuberance. He’s dealing with heavy material, but he’s having a lot of fun with it and it keeps the film from getting mired in its own self-conscious importance.
He also directs his two leads to perfection and they help keep the film grounded no matter how ethereal it threatens to become. Gallo is terrific as Tetro. He takes a surly, brooding and unpredictable character and fleshes him out to feel real and human. After a while, some of his characters more monstrous impulses seem almost reasonable. Gallo has shown in the past that he’s able to pull off difficult characters, but the big surprise here is Ehrenreich making his feature debut. Much of the praise following the film’s Cannes premiere justifiably went to the first timer, even from critics who weren’t in love with the film. His character has the strongest arc, going from wide-eyed innocent to someone altogether more worldly and he makes the transition believable and interesting.
It’s an absolute pleasure to see Coppola in his 70th year alive with the joy of filmmaking. Rather than reworking old ideas, he’s forging ahead and using his accumulated skill and confidence to chart new boundaries. Far from a filmmaker past his prime, he’s a man setting sail under a second wind. It’s fun to watch and leaves you excited for the films he has yet to make. Tetro may not satisfy those waiting for another Godfather-like popular masterpiece from Coppola, but it’s a beautiful, thoughtful and challenging film that gets better the more you think about it.
Tetro. USA 2009. Written by Francis Ford Coppola. Cinematography by Mihai Malaimare Jr. Music score composed by Osvaldo Golijov. Edited by Walter Murch. Starring Vincent Gallo, Maribel Verdú, Alden Ehrenreich, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Carmen Maura, Rodrigo De la Serna, Letice Bredice, Mike Amigorena, Sofia Castiglione and Francesca De Sapio. 2 hours 7 minutes. Not rated by the MPAA. 4 stars (out of 5)
Filed under: Reviews
Tags: Alden Ehrenreich, Carmen Maura, Francesca De Sapio, Francis Ford Coppola, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Letice Bredice, Maribel Verdu, Mihai Malaimare Jr., Mike Amigorena, Osvaldo Golijov, Rodrigo De la Serna, Sofia Castiglione, Tetro, Vincent Gallo, Walter Murch
Great review Craig. The beautifully crafted fourth paragraph has me sold.
It is (again) a most accomplished piece of writing, and I must say I completely and wholeheartedly agree with both the summary rating and the analysis. That fourth paragraph as sartre notes is indeed superlative. There are some minor issues here of course, that prevent this film from reaching the highest level, unfortunately, but when you charter this kind of territory there will always be some excesses and missteps. But it’s an operatic, immerive film that makes formal announcement that Coppola is back.
Thanks Sartre.
Indeed Sam, this movie isn’t perfect….it’s a bit fruity and kind of slow, but I’m prepared to forgive its flaws over the things it gets right. Good stuff that feels like its building on the controversial Youth Without Youth…a film that most people didn’t care for but I liked to a point….there’s still a freedom, but it’s a more grounded story.
I liked it as well, maybe not as much as YWY (which I really dig), but like you said, “Tetro” gets better as it sits with you. It stays in your thoughts. I love the imagery of the film, the performances are pretty strong even when the writing is clunky and melodramatic, and the old-fashioned vibe and personal edge remind the audience why Coppola’s generation was so special to begin with. It’s operatic, grand, sometimes uneven and tedious, but always sincere.
I know you’re a big fan of YWY Ari so I was kind of hoping you’d get a bang out of Tetro and I’m glad you did.
Visually, great, great movie. I think overall the acting is pretty great and the direction is superb. Coppola’s script does tend to go off on its own a bit and meanders at times when the movie is just starting to gel and really click.
Really the only thing I disagree with is the lead performance of Alden Ehrenreich as Bennie, who I thought was charismatic but dramatically very limited. I liked Bennie but I felt like I was watching someone acting the entire time, not watching someone become a real person. Alden Ehrenreich is up against Verdu and Gallo, both accomplished veteran actors, so the comparison is a touch unfair, but he’s the lead performance and I wanted him to be better.
Otherwise though, this is the dictionary definition of a big screen experience. Coppola doesn’t hold back and nearly every composition in this film is brimming with wonderful visual details and amazingly complicated symmetry. I haven’t enjoyed just watching a movie this much in a while, so Tetro was a particular treat.
Really happy you liked Tetro, Joel. I wish more critics agreed with you.
I liked Ehrenreich because there was a feeling of unreality to the whole thing anyway…if that makes sense. And I liked the arc that he went through from sort of this babe in the woods to someone more mature.
I think Tetro suffered critically from many critics applying an undue expectation on the material based on Coppola’s history as a director. He’s 70 years old, he’s not likely to be making the kind of films (or even the same creative decisions) he made at ages 30-40. Coppola could be filming commercials and making the Oscar-bait pictures of some of his contemporaries (ahem) but instead, he’s making small, personal, independently-financed films and letting the chips fall where they may.
While I chide critics for being a little unfair with Coppola, maybe I’m guilty of giving the guy a bit too much benefit of the doubt. All the same, I applaud him for taking chances and swinging for the fences and I let my comments stand. I found Tetro refreshing and engaging, unlike a lot of the ponderous same-old same-old that other veteran directors churn out year after year for a coveted Oscar nom.
Coppola is proving that no American director need to simply rest on their (many) laurels and simply accept the assignments Hollywood is offering.
He’s following Kurosawa’s lead, which is actually pretty cool. Maybe he still has his Ran coming?
The fact that he’s 70 makes Tetro even greater in my book. Here’s a guy who could be coasting on his laurels, sitting back getting fat and sassy at his vineyard, or rehashing old successes like his pal George Lucas, but he’s still creatively vital. Tetro was not perfect (and neither was Youth Without Youth), but it’s great seeing a guy swinging for the fences when he has nothing left to prove.
Wonderful review, Craig; I’ve been waiting to savour this.
I agree with your review, obviously, and I’m happy to read that if anything the film has only grown in your estimation. As Ari and Joel, state, the film grows on you the longer you sit with it (though I seemed to fall in love with it as it unspooled–I was certainly put under Coppola’s spell).
We also concurred with one another on how Tetro is eventually unveiled as the principled brother between the two; and I found myself persuaded by his force of will in a way that recalls screen legends of old. As I said over at CCC, Coppola’s statements about following Elia Kazan’s footsteps and looking at his way of handling performers as guidance rings quite true here, and not only because of the black-and-white. Tetro feels like a film that is partly a play–and always in the very best of ways. It’s not stagy, but it is formally animated chiefly by its characters.
And we likewise both saw the Fellini connection! I loved the operatic flair of the film. Unlike anything else out there at the moment.
Of course, as Joel and you say here, Ehrenreich perhaps leaves something to be desired. He’s such an open book, he tends to be, and threatens to become, the true enigma of the film in a bizarre way. I’m not sure if that was what Coppola was going for, but it’s something worth considering.
As you say, this shows Coppola is still very creatively vital. This is his return to form (naturally “In My Honest Opinion”).
Written under pressure right after having seen the movie, I don’t think I did it justice. It’s a film that needs to linger a bit I think and prossibly even enjoy a second viewing.
Nevertheless, I’m glad you caught up with the movie and that it worked for you. The film has been getting mixed reactions and to them I say : BAH!!