Suburban
Long Island is a hideaway for commuters, but what about those
who live and work in a small town and seldom get to the Big
Apple? In Judy Berlin, we see the dull living
of townspeople in Babylon (actually Oyster Bay), where almost
everyone keeps going because they have illusions, albeit unfulfilled.
Director Eric Mendelsohn, who hails from such a community,
won Best Director award at Sundance for this black-and-white
view of a town from dawn until dusk on a September day in
the 1950s when there was a total eclipse of the sun, which
like the townspeople could only be viewed safely through the
peephole of a sheet of black paper. The eclipse, of course,
is a paradigm how the ambitions of the people have been dimmed
by their own timidity -- that is, except for Judy Berlin (played
by Edie Falco), who announces at the beginning of the film
that she is leaving for Hollywood that day to launch her career
as an actress and spends much of the day saying good-byes.
It is the second day of the school year, and Judy’s mother
Sue (played by Barbara Barrie) reports to work, eventually
catching the eye (and later the unexpected kiss) of principal
Arthur Gold (played by Bob Dishy). However, the film centers
on Arthur’s son David (played by Aaron Harnick), who has been
to Hollywood but has returned home at the age of 30, bitter
because his talent was unrecognized; the only one in the film
lacking illusions, he wanders around, running into all the
peculiarities of the town that gave him the simple faith that
he could make it in the film industry. We observe the foibles
of many residents (and in two cases hear their Freudian dreams),
and we laugh on many occasions, though the comedy is bittersweet.
The town in which time seems to be standing still is well
personified by senile retired teacher Dolores Engler (played
by Bette Henritze), who is first seen staring interminably
at the sun, presumably waiting for the eclipse that is to
come in an hour or so, and then goes back to school, barges
into Sue Berlin’s classroom, slaps Sue’s face for being her
successor, and finally is escorted from the classroom. Although
David is doubtless surprised when Judy tells him that in high
school she had a crush on him, and he kisses her rather perfunctorily,
he tries to tell Judy that she does not have the talent to
survive in Hollywood. Judy, however, has not only made up
her mind but also tries to persuade David to get over his
obvious depression by making a film about the town in which
he grew up. Her mood, in short, prevails as she leaves town
bushy-tailed, while the rest of the town, in darkness, turns
inward as storm windows are put in place while the cold of
autumn increases. Comparisons with the black-and-white portions
of Pleasantville (1998) are obvious. However,
Judy Berlin enables us to appreciate the virtues
of the 1950s, when the suburban middle class retained much
unpretentious dignity, not realizing that their problem might
be lack of self-esteem. MH
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