 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Cradle Will Rock
- Review Date: May 18, 2003
- R
- Genre: Drama
- 1999
Common Sense Media says
Art and politics and ideals; mature.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie has strong language, nudity, including an artist's nude models, and sexual references, including references to homosexuality.
What's the story?
Constructed by writer/director Tim Robbins to show characters with a range of dilemmas and priorities, CRADLE WILL ROCK depicts artists who want to make political statements, artists who want to make money, and artists who are thrilled by art for its beauty. The director -- 22-year-old Orson Welles, just before going to Hollywood to make Citizen Kane -- simply says that his goal is 'to [annoy] all the right people." A young businessman (Nelson Rockefeller) wants to use his fortune for art -- as long as its message is one that does not make him too uncomfortable. An older businessman wants to use his fortune to buy Old Masters -- and to buy the support of politicians, so he can make more money.
Is it any good?
How do you stay true to ideals when there is pressure to compromise in order to make a living? How can you sell without selling out? These questions are provocatively posed in "mostly true" intersecting stories surrounding a pro-union play funded -- and then closed -- by the U.S. government.
Today's teens live in a world in which politicians squabble about whether an "elephant dung Madonna" should be hung in a government-funded museum exhibit and rap stars famous for being outrageous and outspoken issue bowdlerized versions of their recordings in order to meet the requirements of chain stores. Older teens, who try to grapple with the problem of holding onto integrity in a complicated world, will appreciate the way those issues are raised in this movie. Teens should notice the irony and symbolism, like the rich people dressing as Marie Antoinette's court for a costume party and the opening newsreel showing art being censored in Nazi Germany.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about how Welles went on to annoy one of the most powerful men in the country, William Randolph Hearst, with his next project, Citizen Kane, number one on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest movies. Teens might want to read more about Nelson Rockefeller and check out Diego Rivera's surviving murals at http://www.diegorivera.com. For more on the Federal theater project, read Hallie Flanagan: A Life in the American Theatre, by Joanne Bentley or Flanagan's own book, Arena: The Story of the Federal Theatre.
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Teen, 16 years old
August 21, 2011
AGE
An excellent look into the past
I was introduced to this film in my freshman US History course at a local charter school and can certainly say that the film is much deeper than what I had watched before it.
The film is highly liberal, pushing for a pro-Marxist standpoint, which is very often overlooked in schools. The artists in it do have a reputation for a more risqué way of expression, and sexual content would have been offensive (the teacher censored portions by blocking the screen). There is a scene where a disgruntled member of the theatre group leaves the room in a fit as he repeatedly screams "F-ck!" I didn't find this offensive, but realistic.
It gives an excellent and realistic view into the past. I would recommend this movie to anyone with mature children.
What other families should know:
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| Studio: | Walt Disney Pictures |
| Director: | Tim Robbins |
| Cast: | Bill Murray, Hank Azaria, John Cusack, Susan Sarandon |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 132 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | December 10, 1999 |
| DVD release date: | May 16, 2000 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | some language and sexuality |
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