Reds (1981)

When my colleague reviewed this and gave it a great mark, I was excited, though I have to confess to never having heard of it before. Pretty shocking really since I consider myself to be of a like mind (at least generally speaking) with the characters of this film, American communists living and writing in the second decade of the twentieth century. Now, I have come to understand it is one of the most important leftist films that have ever been made and I'm pretty gutted I didn't discover it before.

The film centres on John (Jack) Reed, author of 10 Days that Shook the World about the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and his turbulent relationship with fellow journalist Louise Bryant. I'd never heard of Reed before and, as famous socialists go, together with typical socialist reading-lists, he's not high up. I might well check out some of his work now. America actually has a pretty poor radical leftist tradition (compared with other nations the world over) so it was very interesting to get an insight into the American left and the film piqued my curiosity and interest to go and investigate further.

Anyway, onto the film. You'd think a three and a half hour epic about a group of communists and their lives and loves would be a hard sell. It is, but Reds, manages the material, and the length, brilliantly and beautifully by focusing on such an intense and moving relationship. Politics comes second. This is not so much a film about the left as about love, and that is something I'll come back to. Warren Beatty is excellent as Reed, who plays a little like a socialistic Han Solo (I'm not kidding) and Beatty uses his not-insignificant charm to great effect. Although it's pitched as his film, it's ironically made as good as it is by Diane Keaton's Louise Bryant, with whose struggle it is impossible not to feel a lot of empathy. Keaton is magnificent and Bryant feels so alive, so multi-dimensional, you at times forget you're watching a film rather than a documentary (a feel the film goes for anyway with a very effective use of talking heads). Exquisitely judged and performed, a truly list-busting performance and, to be honest, Reds is worth seeing for Keaton alone, she eats up every scene and the denouement left me in floods of tears for a good while. Two scenes in particular are worth mentioning, a surprise meeting with Emma Goldman, a character she had a difficult relationship in the film, is emotionally vast and a reunification with Reed is simply emotionally perfect. A true, and rare, joy.

A number of other performances are well worth mentioning. The underrated Paul Sorvino (excellent in Goodfellas) is perfect as Louis Fraina, Jerzy Kosinski is good as Zinoviev and Gene Hackman is as good as always, if underused. However, the supporting star is undoubtedly Maureen Stapleton as the prickly, idealistic and likeable anarchist Goldman, a famous historical figure of the anarchist movement. Jack Nicholson is strangely off-kilter, however, as the playwright Eugene O' Neill. All in all, though, an effective supporting cast.

It's difficult to know where to stop, but if I don't end soon I'm sure most readers will give up (if they haven't already), so I'll just say this. One point the film does make, perfectly, I might add, surrounds free love. Free love and the sharing of sexual partners might sound like a good idea in practice but love itself (and all that goes with it) has a tendency to get in the way. Bertrand Russell famously supported free love then got in a massive huff when his wife had an affair. This has always been an odd one for me, since I am very much one for questioning society's basic values and premises. In the end, it should always be up to individuals whether they wish to choose one partner or many. Bryant and Reed try the latter option but, as you watch Bryant traipsing through the snow (I won't say more than that) as the film draws to a close, you're in no doubt which side of the fence the film is on. And I suspect that speaks to many people. Socialism is not about free love (though it is commonly misconstrued as such) and Reds stands as a perfect testament as to why. And that, to bring us full circle, is also a perfect testimony to what a great film it is. I challenge anyone not to be emotionally spent at the end which is also, ironically, what a first foray into socialistic ideas can do to you. I hope both leave you as breathless as they did me.

A+