Ronald Neame's The Horse's Mouth is the story of Sulley Jimson, a difficult, conniving, uncouth artist whose artistic endeavors have brought him limited admiration, plenty of rejection, and a genuinely tough way of life. Extremely infatuated by the seemingly endless pursuit of the perfect wall for his next piece, Sully lives an existence that often leads him alienated and alone, with his artistic pursuit being a very personal experience, one which by proxy has led him to owe money to nearly everyone he has ever come in contact with. Featuring a memorable lead performance by Alec Guinness, Ronald Neame's The Hourse's Mouth is a funny, honest portrait of the artistic pursuit, a film which manages to be comical yet brutally honest about the struggles of an artist whose work, by very definition, comes from a very personal place. The Horse's Mouth juxtaposes societies romanticization of the artist with the harsh realities of the world in which they tend to inhabit, revealing how being an artist is a tough, brave, and personal by nature. The hypocrisy of society when it comes to appreciating art but not the time and pain that tends to go into it is one of the attributes of Horse's Mouth that truly stands out, due primarily to Neame's honest story and Guinness' memorable performance. Given the fact that personal expression is intrinsic to art, financial success tends to be elusive for many artists, with Sully being a character who has become conniving and uncouth over the years due in part to this harsh reality, one that has left him beaten down by the world but where solace is found in the brush strokes of his work. The Horse's Mouth doesn't overly-romanticize the life of an artist in the slightest, detailing the internal struggle that is constantly a part of personal expression, one in which Sully himself is constantly at odds with himself about how to articulate what is inside his head. The Horse's Mouth's tone is impressive in its balance, being a film more than capable of detailing the complex emotions centered around the dire importance of art and personal expression while simultaneously laughing at Sully's over-the-top, difficult demeanor, with Neame's film understanding the importance of using laughter to talk about sadness and pain.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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