There are very few films with the charm and candor of a Hal Ashby flick. As a part of The Cinematropolis’ ongoing coverage of deadCenter 2018, O.U. alumnus Amy Scott’s Hal is a masterful examination of American cinema’s most off-beat contributors. Furthermore, the piece secured this year’s Special Jury Prize for a Documentary Feature at the festival, an accolade readily supplementing such a recommendation.
Told through narrated correspondence, an over 30-year-old-interview, and the fond memories of his closest colleagues, Hal paints an intimate picture of the ostracized filmmaker. Though Ashby’s lifelong friend and In the Heat of the Night director Norman Jewison serves as the guiding light throughout the film, numerous cohorts including Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges, and Robert C. Jones make appearances. The discussion encapsulates Ashby’s first gig on the cutting room floor of Republic to the colossal failure of 8 Million Ways to Die and the artist’s death shortly thereafter.
An enigma amid the era of John Wayne, Scott wastes no time championing Ashby’s progressivism and civil leanings. However, Scott does so without instilling a sense of dogma, instead opting to illuminate Ashby’s musings in a light akin to the filmmaker’s own slice-of-life demeanor. For instance, a significant amount of time is investing in Ashby’s forgotten directorial debut, The Landlord. Despite The Landlord’s lack of acknowledgment within the current Zeitgeist, Scott is keen to emphasize its modern relevance through the insights of cast members and Ashby’s own criticism of white privilege. Scott’s formula of bookending each of the director’s works from the seventies with a powerful cultural commentary ignites the desire to explore Ashby’s entire filmography.
Scott displays an intimate understanding of Ashby’s career without falsely injecting any kind of presumption. One of the more controversial aspects of the director’s life, his alleged drug abuse, is intentionally left to be discussed by his closest peers. On the other hand, Scott opts to discuss Ashby’s burgeoning frustration with a blockbuster-concerned film industry within the filmmaker’s letters to Jewison, drawing particular attention to his often explosive and abrupt conclusions. Though Hal makes an active point to disassemble Ashby’s supposed cocaine problem, Scott tackles his estranged family life and inability to serve as a father headfirst. This notion by no means disqualifies the power of Ashby’s endeavor but instead frames him in a more human fashion.
In the midst of a modern independent film uprising, Hal’s critique of a studio’s greed and the disconnect with Ashby’s craft is undoubtedly relevant. In the crater of Spielberg’s wake, it can be easy to forget the films tackling societal institutions in lieu of giant sharks or Indiana Jones. Less overtly, Scott draws a thread between the reconciliation of Disney-produced action and the often more emotionally-upheaving approach of an A24 piece. Scott navigates beyond a simple biographical approach, constantly reminding the viewer of Ashby’s importance a half-century after his time while simultaneously exposing burgeoning cinephiles.
One of the film’s few minor hiccups largely involves quantifying Ashby’s influence. Though it arguably may go without saying, it seems the recent rise of auteurs like Steve McQueen and Ava DuVernay would have led a meaningful discussion within Hal. After considering Ashby’s death, it feels as though the documentary concludes a little too quickly as if there was little time to discuss the filmmaker’s postmortem legacy. These minor qualms, however, do little to compromise the documentary’s power.
Amid a festival of intriguing selections, Amy Scott’s Hal is a must-see. Despite concerning itself predominantly with one artist, it is also serves as a soliloquy of the history of cinema itself. Colorful, loud, and above all else, intimate, there are ultimately very few documentaries quite like Hal.
Hal screens again at deadCenter 2018 on Sat, Jun 9th, 7:00 p.m. @ Midfirst Theater at Harkins Bricktown Cinema.
