NYFF 2020: Hopper/Welles
nyff 2020Originally intended to be included as a sequence in his ever-evolving feature The Other Side of the Wind, legendary filmmaker Orson Welles pulled filmmaker Dennis Hopper from his work directing The Last Movie to Los Angeles to have a filmed conversation over dinner. Ranging in topics from the film industry to politics, the conversation might not have made it into The Other Side of the Wind but similar to that film has finally found its way to release as it’s own stand alone feature titled Hopper/Welles. The result, perhaps unsurprisingly, is one of undeniable power and potency.
Even with the film seeming passive on paper, with two individuals simply sitting down with each other having a free-flowing conversation, there is something seductive within Hopper/Welles. There is not a single moment within the documentary that it starts to feel as if the film is dragging or losing momentum. The initial selling point of this film is the personnel involved, both of which are at key points in their career. Orson Welles is returning to Hollywood trying to find his footing and make a comeback, while Dennis Hopper is also trying to find his footing coming off a surprising massive success.
Both of these filmmakers have an incredible weight on their shoulders and, naturally, end up pushing each other. Quickly though, the film forgets about treating its participants as mythical creatures in the world of Hollywood and begins to push them as people. Welles especially pokes at Hopper trying to expose the truths he hides below the surface. From friendly debate to aggressive agitating, Welles continually bounces between himself and various characters as he successfully breaks down the walls between himself and Hopper. Even with topics Hopper clearly is uncomfortable with, such as his childhood, Welles is relentless at times, not allowing Hopper to escape with an easy answer and continues to push until true depth is found. It is because of this that the conversation turns from a discussion between two filmmakers to an almost debate between two everyday people which, surprising to some, is even more captivating to watch.
Being a conversation taking place in 1970, it also is natural to expect the conversation to lose some of its impact, being viewed half a decade later. Where the specifics of the society being meditated on have changed, a new nuanced perspective has formed, also protecting any of the film's dialogue from feeling irrelevant. The Hollywood of 1969/1970 has been well documented in recent years as a Hollywood in the middle of a major act of social diastrophism. Welles and Hopper might have grown up in the Hollywood of old, but they are far from blind to the changes happening all around them, and throughout their dialogue, explore their thoughts and emotions on these changes and how it has affected not just the world around them but themselves.
This future being consciously thought about is now nothing more than the past for those in 2020. This conflicting perspective between the subjects of the film and the audience transcends the normal explorations of this time. The depth to the conversation of change within Hopper/Welles is something projects like Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood can only dream of, and the conversation element is far more engaging for the audience than simply showing the changing of times as that film did.
It might be easy to point to the experience of watching Hopper/Welles as listening to a podcast, yet there is an undeniably secret weapon within the film which isn't there for podcasts: the visuals. Even with the film simply being a sit-down conversation over dinner, the dynamic filmmaking and blocking speaks to the power of Welles as a director and Gary Graver as a cinematographer. The film is bold in it's shooting style, not only refusing to show Welles at all but also in taking on an extremely rough style never cutting for the continual clapboards that enter the frame or the movement of the camera crew. This gives the film a grittiness that it thrives on when it comes to building a raw and honest feeling.
The black and white cinematography is also stunning, using lighting to create truly powerful shots that give the film a unique cinematic feeling. The best thing about the visuals, however, is what it means for the conversation. Where the words are obviously important, it cannot be expressed how much is gained from seeing the physical reactions of Dennis Hopper. From his facial reactions as he contemplates a response or as he goes through cigarette after cigarette, there is an incredible amount of depth and emotion found within how he physically contains himself throughout the conversation which would be lost if the film didn't have such a strongly crafted visual element.
It might have been predictable that Hopper/Welles would be a deep conversation between two of Hollywood's biggest legends, but the film being as captivating and engaging as it was has to stand out as a bit of a surprise. This is yet another mastercraft from Orson Welles that – way more so than The Other Side of the Wind – benefits greatly from the time between creation and release. For anyone interested in Old Hollywood and the evolution of the American spirit specifically within filmmaking, this is a must-watch documentary that stands out as one of the best cinematic outings of the year.
