When Holy Smoke was first released on US shores, the advertising campaign featured a stylized tabloid and the headline, "Holy Smoke!" The exclamation point was featured in a number of early listings for the film as well. And what difference does that punctuation mark make? Especially since it seems to have vanished completely, especially in the video promotion, which seems to focus on stars Harvey Keitel and Kate Winslet looking either lustful or holy? Well, it clarifies the tone of the film. Going from the tabloid ad, you might think the film was a satire - of religion, of sexuality, of power. From the more recent posters, you might think it was another Jane Campion polemic on, well, religion, sexuality, and power, perhaps as humourless as The Piano. The problem is that the film seems to be teetering to both extremes. In earlier Campion films, like Sweetie and Angel at My Table, a strong current of black comedy filled the pieces, even if tragedy was on the surface. Both The Piano and Portrait of A Lady lacked that humour, for the most part. For me, at least. Perhaps, then, Campion can't be blamed for going playing up the slapstick in Holy Smoke. A Fabio lookalike runs into a poll. A silly woman looks away as her child jumps into her arms and the kid falls flat on this face. These gestures get easy laughs from the crowd, but probably undermine the rest of the story. Ruth (Winslet) goes to India and joins a "religious movement" or cult. After her Australian family tricks her back to her native country, they bring in leading deprogrammer Harvey Keitel and a predictable war of wills ensues. All the while, on the outside, Ruth's slightly off-kilter family does silly things for no reason. The battle between Ruth and the deprogrammer intensifies and it becomes inevitable that somebody will break down. It makes sense that Winslet's Ruth would see the artificial family of the cult as preferable to her own. Not because her family isn't loving, but because they're so very low culture. If the film is a satire, Campion is making a little joke about the upper blue collar families of Australia. And even though it probably is, Campion is being a little too condescending for my tastes. Too many of the jokes are too obviously at the bumbling family's expense. Both of the two leads are excellent. Perhaps too good. Winslet and Keitel may have too much intensity for the humour that Campion's aiming for. Basically, they sell the fact that lives are at stake, even if the writing doesn't. Winslet's Ruth hardly gives any evidence that she's been brainwashed or any any way indoctrinated by her cult, but from Keitel's urgency, you fell like she's still in danger. And many critics described Winslet's performance as "fearless" and this is true. The fact that she was denied an Oscar nomination is a little sad. I guess what I'm saying, overall, is that if Holy Smoke is a comedy, it's not quite funny enough. And if it's a drama, it's a little too overbearing in its ideology, something that could have been softened had the message been snuck in between laughs instead of through the committed performances of the leads.
On a technical level, Holy Smoke is beautifully made. The cinematography perfectly balances the dirty realism of Delhi, the sunbaked nature of the Outback, and the fantasies and hallucinations of the main characters. Campion, as always, is a master of "place," perfectly situating her actors amidst throngs of people and miles of wasteland.
I'd give Holy Smoke 6/10 I think. I actually liked the film a lot more the second time I saw it (strangely, the first time was on video and the second time in 35mm), so it probably rewards additional viewings...
On a technical level, Holy Smoke is beautifully made. The cinematography perfectly balances the dirty realism of Delhi, the sunbaked nature of the Outback, and the fantasies and hallucinations of the main characters. Campion, as always, is a master of "place," perfectly situating her actors amidst throngs of people and miles of wasteland.
I'd give Holy Smoke 6/10 I think. I actually liked the film a lot more the second time I saw it (strangely, the first time was on video and the second time in 35mm), so it probably rewards additional viewings...