Return of the pinkos

>> Tim Robbins looks back at red-baiting in Cradle Will Rock

by MATTHEW HAYS

Tim Robbins is one of the few directors working in Hollywood today who's regarded as political and idealistic. In '92, he directed and wrote the scathing, Altmanesque political satire Bob Roberts. In '95, he directed and wrote Dead Man Walking, a dimensional, subtle damnation of the death penalty (for which his equally politicized spouse, Susan Sarandon, won the Oscar for best actress).

It would seem natural, then, that Roberts would delve into a period of American red-baiting paranoia. With Cradle Will Rock, Robbins meticulously recreates a pre-war ideological shake-up in New York, where artists found themselves under siege by a government steeped in anti-communist fervour.

Armed with an undeniably brilliant cast (including Sarandon, Emily Watson, John Turturro, John and Joan Cusack, Philip Baker Hall, Bill Murray and Vanessa Redgrave), Robbins depicts numerous historical figures and the way in which their lives intertwined. The plot's centrepiece is a threatened production of The Cradle Will Rock, directed by a then-22-year-old Orson Welles (played by Angus MacFadyen). As hearings into the communist leanings of the American theatre community evolve, political leaders begin to question the show's message, and the leanings of its cast. Also depicted is Nelson Rockefeller (John Cusack), who hires Diego Rivera (Ruben Blades) to paint a mural for the lobby of the Rockefeller Center, only to thoroughly regret it when the art takes on decidedly political overtones. And in one of his best performances yet, Bill Murray plays a ventriloquist alcoholic who slips into despair as the ideological bullies set in.

What's most impressive about Robbins' bit of political Americana lore is his ability to effectively juxtapose comic moments with the overwhelming horror of the red-baiting witchhunt of the period. Robbins' left-leaning sensibility can be felt throughout, as well as his longing for a time when people had heartfelt political ideals and values. Robbins lets us taste the terror of being surrounded by those who might rat on you, the sense that your political convictions could cost you your livelihood and friends. The film's final moments astutely sum up the final, unequivocal victory of capitalism. And the resulting blow to our collective culture.

Cradle Will Rock opens Friday, January 21