Guinevere

Released 1999
Stars Stephen Rea, Sarah Polley, Jean Smart, Gina Gershon, Paul Dooley, Francis Guinan, Carrie Preston
Directed by Audrey Wells

"Guinevere" is a love story involving a 21-year-old woman who is fresh, blond and vulnerable, and a man in his 50s who is a wet-eyed, hangdog drunk. "He was the worst man I ever met--or maybe the best," she remembers four years after their affair ended. "If you're supposed to learn from your mistakes, then he was the best mistake I ever made." They are not a good match or even a reasonable one, but at that time, and for her needs, he was a better choice than some college boy.

The woman's name is not Guinevere but Harper. He calls all of his women Guinevere. His name is Connie Fitzpatrick, and he's a talented but alcoholic photographer who lives in a loft in San Francisco and specializes in mentoring young women. Harper (Sarah Polley) meets Connie at a particular time in her life. Her family is rich and cold. She is on track for Harvard but feels no calling to go there. There is no boy in her life. Anger, irony and cynicism circle the family dining table. She wants to break with this and find a partner who allows her to express her idealism. Writing those words, I realized that "Guinevere" tells the same story as "American Beauty," with the ages and sexes reversed: The middle-aged Kevin Spacey character lusts for a high school cheerleader for the same reason that Harper knocks on the photographer's door; what they both seek is affirmation that they are good, unique, and treasured. If you can find that in a lover, you can put up with a lot.

Summary by Roger Ebert

I did not like this movie. I didn't hate it, bit I sure didn't like it. I was on board for most of the first half, but then it lost me. I think I'm the only one who didn't like it from reading the reviews and talking to my wife, but I felt the movie lost its way. Connie was a drunken loser, who knew exactly what he was and what he wanted. He was an unambitious man who wanted a young woman to worship him and feed his ego at all times. It didn't matter who it was; there just had to be one. Harper's mother was a beautiful woman who was bitter and frightened by her aging, and she was right on the money when she mercilessly dressed him down. Connie may not have wanted to face the facts about why he only wanted 20 year-old women, but he knew they were temporary. Harper visited his studio just as his previous Guinevere was trashing the place and leaving him. He showed no emotion, because he didn't care. His Guineveres were temporary. They were transient. He knew that, and he knew he'd find a new one. The movie forgets this, though, and tries to grow a heart. It becomes maudlin with Connie actually falling in love with Harper and leaving her, because he doesn't want to subject her to his failing. All of this is wrong, because Connie's a leech. He wouldn't care about Harper's feelings or situation. He already had her working at a coffee shop, because he didn't want to work. He never would have cut her loose for her own good.

At times I liked Sarah Polley's performance, but I felt it lacked something. She didn't project the intelligence you'd expect from someone accepted into Harvard. There was never a moment that I felt she was the intelligent debutante she was supposed to be. Also, the plot required Connie to see artistic talent in Harper that he could nourish (or exploit), but she had no artistic talent. If Connie's goal was to simply use these girls, it wouldn't matter if they had talent, but the movie wants it both ways. He successfully nurtured his previous girls, and they went on to become successful artists. The implication is they became more successful than him, but that wouldn't be difficult. If he were truly able to draw out their talent, that would mean they had talent to begin with. Harper had none. She didn't even take a picture until he hit rock bottom. I'm a firm believer that true artists have innate talent that can be enhanced and focused, but they must be born with that artistic talent. Anyone can learn to make pop art, but true artists are born with a gift. This movie didn't understand the first thing about art.

I probably don't even need to mention it, but the ending was a travesty. I'd like to know how this ending was conceived. It was probably a committee of studio execs who demanded a happy ending. Whatever happened, it was the final straw that broke this camel's back. --Bill Alward, March 24, 2002