Pollock (R, 2000)

POLLOCK, a labor of love from director/star Ed Harris, shows us the artist as a hugely talented but yowling id, all hunger and impulse. We see that both art and acceptance (and therefore fame) matter a great deal to Jackson Pollock. And we see that when the two collide, art wins out. Art critic Clement Greenberg (Jeffrey Tambor) champions of Pollock's work, making him the darling of the art world. His approval means a lot to Pollock, professionally and artistically. When Greenberg criticizes the color in one painting at a dinner party, Pollock runs to the studio to drag it into the room and takes out a huge tube of paint to squirt onto it. But even his need for approval and his self- destructiveness and spite are not enough to allow him to mar a painting that he thinks is right.

Harris gets a lot of the details right, including the dazzling spectacle of watching Pollock create the paintings. Great care was taken with the movie's art direction. A magnificent lobster-decorated dress worn by Pollock's patron Peggy Guggenheim (Amy Madigan) is an exact replica of one she really wore. Much of the movie takes place on location at Pollock's home in rural Long Island, and it all feels very genuine and authentic.

Harris, Marcia Gay Harden, and Madigan are all outstanding, and the film, while flawed, is engrossing and impressive. But we never really see why Pollock was important or what motivated him. He is boorish, selfish, conceited, and, most of all, needy. And there are a few cringe-inducing expositional moments, as when Pollock's wife (Marcia Gay Harden) exclaims on seeing his first dribble painting, "This isn't Cubism, Jackson, because you're not breaking down the figure into multiple views!" That does not do much either for those who are familiar with Pollock's work or want to learn more of the technique. Pollock, who wisely resisted explanations and categorization, deserves something more subtle and complex. There are moments when this film gives it to us, as when Pollock makes his famous statement, "I do not use the accident. I deny the accident."

Studio: Columbia Tristar
Director: Ed Harris
Cast: Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Marcia Gay Harden
Genre: Drama
Run time: 122 minutes
Theatrical release: December 15, 2000
DVD release: July 24, 2001
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: language and brief sexuality