Pollock is a nice solid biopic. It tells the true story of the rise and fall of arguably America's greatest painter. Interestingly enough, Pollock is better at explaining Pollock's art than it is at explaing him. I wish that first-time director Ed Harris had done as good a job getting inside the person as he had getting into Pollock's
art and the 1940s New York art world.
Pollock is well acted by Ed Harris in the title role and especially Marcia Gay Harden, as Pollock's wife, Lee Krasner. As a first time director, Harris reminds me of Clint Eastwood, as he favors a spare but muscular approach.
There is one great moment of cinema. Pollock receives a commission to paint a huge canvas for Peggy Guggenheim. Pollock stands in a dark room before a blank canvas contemplating, and his shadow projects against the canvass, dwarfing the man. That scene sums up both the movie Pollock and the artist Jackson Pollock.
