Being There
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| Being There | |
|---|---|
 original film poster |
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| Directed by | Hal Ashby |
| Produced by | Andrew Braunsberg |
| Written by | Jerzy Kosiński Robert C. Jones |
| Starring | Peter Sellers Shirley MacLaine Melvyn Douglas Jack Warden Richard A. Dysart Richard Basehart |
| Music by | Johnny Mandel |
| Editing by | Don Zimmerman |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | December 19, 1979 |
| Running time | 130 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Being There is a 1979 film directed by Hal Ashby, adapted from the 1971 novel written by Jerzy Kosiński. The film stars Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard A. Dysart and Richard Basehart. Melvyn Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Peter Sellers was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. This was the last Peter Sellers film to be released while he was alive.
The screenplay was coauthored by Kosinski and the award winning screenwriter Robert C. Jones, winning the 1981 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Film) Best Screenplay Award and the 1980 Writers Guild of America Award (Screen) for Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium. It was also nominated for the 1980 Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay.
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[edit] Plot
Chance (Sellers) is a middle-aged gardener who lives in the townhouse of a wealthy man in Washington, D.C.. Chance has lived in the house his whole life, tending the garden, with virtually no contact with the outside world. His cultural and social education is derived entirely from what he watches on the television sets provided by the "Old Man", who raised him. The only other person in his life is Louise, the maid who cooks his meals and looks upon him as nothing more than a child who has failed to grow up. When his benefactor dies, Chance is forced to leave his sheltered existence and discover the outside world for the first time.
He wanders aimlessly through a wintry and busy Washington D.C. in old-fashioned clothes, a homburg hat, suitcase and umbrella. In the evening Chance comes across a TV shop and sees himself in one of the TVs due to a camera in the shop window. While watching himself in it he is struck by a car owned by Ben Rand (Douglas), a wealthy businessman.
Rand's wife Eve (MacLaine) invites Chance to their home (the Biltmore Estate) to recover from his injured leg. After being offered alcohol for the first time in his life, Chance coughs over it while being asked his name which, instead of "Chance the Gardener" (which is what he said), sounds like "Chauncey Gardiner". During dinner at the Rand's home, Chance describes attorneys coming to his former house and shutting it down. Although Chance is really describing being kicked out of the home where he tended to the garden, Ben Rand perceives it as attorneys shutting down Chance's business due to financial problems. Sympathizing with him, Ben Rand takes Chance under his wing. His simplistic, very serious and indeliberate utterances, which mostly concern the garden of which he was once steward, are interpreted as allegorical statements of deep wisdom and knowledge regarding business matters and the current state of politics in America.
Rand is also the confidant and adviser of the US President (Warden), whom he introduces to "Chauncey". Chance's remarks about how the garden changes with the seasons are interpreted by the President as economic and political advice, as in the mid-term unpopularity that many governments face while in office. Chance, as Chauncey Gardiner, quickly rises to national public prominence. He becomes a media celebrity with appearances on TV talk shows, and is soon on the A-list of the most wanted in Washington society. Public opinion polls start to reflect just how much his "simple brand of wisdom" resonates with the jaded American public.
Rand, dying of aplastic anemia, encourages his wife to get close to Chance, knowing Eve is a fragile woman. Only Rand's doctor (Dysart) sees Chance for what he truly is: an actual gardener totally oblivious and unaware to the ways of the world. However, the fact that Chance has given Rand an apparent acceptance of his illness and peace of mind with his imminent death makes him hesitant to say anything.
Rand dies, leaving Chance a legacy in his will. At his funeral, the President gives a long-winded read-out of Rand's quotations, which hardly impresses the pallbearers, members of the board of Rand's companies. They hold a whispered discussion over potential replacements for the President for the next term of office. As Rand's coffin is about to be added to his family's Masonic pyramid-like mausoleum they finally agree on "Chauncey Gardiner".
Oblivious to all this, Chance wanders through Rand's wintry estate. Ever the gardener, he straightens out a bush and then walks off... across the surface of a small lake. He pauses, dips his umbrella into the water under his feet as if testing its depth, turns, smiles, then continues to walk on the water.
[edit] Cast, characters and their perceptions
- Peter Sellers as Chauncey "Chance" Gardiner: a simple gardener who has spent his entire life isolated from the world. Chance's calm and seemingly highly intelligent demeanor is essentially a blank canvas on which each of the film's characters paint their own picture, sometimes making Chance out to be much more than he really is.
- Melvyn Douglas as Ben Rand: a dying business leader and political king-maker. Rand gains a perception of Chauncey as a failed though totally decent businessman down on his luck. He also sees Chauncey's reference to seasons in gardening as an insightful comment about the national economy. Near the end of the film and due to Chance's strong presence in his life, Ben finally makes some much needed peace with himself and his terminal illness knowing that Chance will be around to love and care for his wife Eve after his inevitable death.
- Shirley MacLaine as Eve Rand: Ben's wife. She is first puzzled by Chauncey's strangeness and then thinks of him as having insight and a sense of humor. Later she sinks her own initial doubts and adopts the consensus view that he is a great man. She then pursues her own need for friendship and sexual contact, especially when her dying husband signals his consent to her forming a very strong relationship with Chauncey. This ultimately leads her to act on her sexual desires with the oblivious Chance. In one scene, Chance kisses her, imitating a scene he has just seen on TV, but then tells her that he prefers to watch. Eve subsequently proceeds to masturbate herself while Chance continues to channel-hop (which is what he meant).
- Jack Warden as The President: He first sees Chauncey's advice as inspiring, to the point that he quotes and names him on national TV. But he soon comes to regret bringing this mystery man into the spotlight since it might jeopardize his chances of running for a second term. His anxiety over Gardiner is so intense that it renders him sexually impotent.
- The FBI, astounded by their inability to discover anything about "Chauncey Gardiner", come to the conclusion that someone has eliminated the entire record — a feat of such ability that "only an ex-FBI man could have done it!" The CIA prefer to think that the cover-up was perpetrated by one of their own agents, highlighting the rivalry between the two organizations.
- Thomas Franklin: the attorney, who distrusts Chance's motives for acting the way he does when they first meet in the house owned by Chance's late benefactor and orders him out. Later, Franklin, keen to start a career in politics, seems to view his contact with Chauncey Gardiner as potentially ruinous to his future career in politics.
- Louise: the African-American maid, sees Chance, whom she has known since he was a boy, on national TV, and declares out loud that he only has "rice pudding between the ears." It confirms her opinion that America is certainly a "white man's world." Her actual monologue was known to have brought the biggest laughter in theatres during the movie's theatrical lifespan:[citation needed] "It's for sure a white man's world in America. I raised that boy since he was the size of a 'pissant' and I'll tell you he never learned to read nor write. No sir. Has no brains at all. Stuffed with rice pudding between the ears. Short-changed by the Lord and dumb as a jackass. Yes sir, all you got to be is white in America to get whatever you want. Gobbledegoop."
- The general public, portrayed by the audience in the TV studio, opinion polls and Thomas Franklin's girlfriend, thinks that Chauncey is simply "brilliant."
- Financial/political elite: seen at Rand's funeral. They believe that Gardiner may be their man for the next presidential election instead of a second term for the current President.
- Richard A. Dysart as Dr. Robert Allenby: the good-hearted doctor initially worries that Chauncey will sue Rand for damages following the accident. He eventually learns the truth and confronts Chance with the information, who confirms it, having never actually claimed to be anything else — the whole affair has been based on what people assume Chauncey is rather than what Chance led them to believe he was. However, Allenby ultimately decides to keep this knowledge to himself since Chance has given his patient a new lease of life and acceptance of his fate.
[edit] Memorable scenes
Memorable scenes in the film version include Chance leaving the house he has lived in all his life to enter into the poor black Washington, D.C. neighborhood he has never explored. The scene is musically set to a funked-up version of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (performed by Deodato), the music popularized in 2001: A Space Odyssey and an accompaniment to many TV programs regarding space exploration.
Chance is later confronted by a street gang. He pulls out his TV remote control as though to change the vision before his eyes. A lifetime of watching TV has not prepared him for the realities of real life.
In Eve Rand's limousine, Chance asks to watch TV, to which he pays more attention than the luxurious vehicle around him or the woman he has just met. Chance watches the Cheech and Chong short film Basketball Jones in Eve's limo, and the song continues to play when he arrives at the Rand estate and is brought into their mansion.
A large portion of the film including the final scene take place at the massive Biltmore House, which "stands in" as the home of Mr. Rand. The Biltmore House and Estate is the largest private residence in the United States and is located in Asheville, North Carolina. The scenes involving the funeral for Rand were also filmed on the grounds of the estate.
MacLaine's character writhing in long-suppressed sexual pleasure on a bear rug while Chance obliviously channel-surfs and tries to mimic a yoga program by standing on his head.
The second to last scene has generated discussion and controversy. Before Ben dies, he says, "Tell Eve that...", and he dies in the middle of the sentence. The doctor puts Ben's hand to his chest. Chance then puts his hand on Ben's forehead as if reviving him or sending his soul to rest. When he takes his hand off Ben's forehead, he speaks with the doctor, and then, leaves the room. As Chance is leaving the room, the doctor, blurred, is watching him with his back facing the screen. Someone (the doctor or Rand) then says, "I understand." The doctor turning around to look at the dead Ben, then says, "I understand?" This scene can possibly support the hypothesis that Chance indeed possesses some unknown divine power.
[edit] Lake scene
In the final scene, as the party elite discuss choosing Chance as their preferred candidate in the upcoming presidential election, Chance is seen wandering over the estate. He comes to the edge of a lake and then continues to walk on. The audience sees Chance walking on the water and not into it. This scene continues to generate discussion and controversy. Clearly we see Chance walking on water, an act with a clear Biblical reference. It is as though the director is pushing our own sense of seeing. Are we, like the other characters in the movie, seeing what we want to see? Or what we are primed to see? Is there a prosaic explanation, such as hidden stepping-stones? Or do we take a leap of faith and see Chance as the Savior that so many of the characters are looking for? Does he truly possess some special grace, given his simple innocence and simply being present to each moment without filters and ideas? Is this a commentary on Christianity - that what Jesus was and what people wanted him to be or perceived him to be may have been quite different? Or, does he walk on water simply because his mind has not considered that he cannot? In his 2001 book The Great Movies, Roger Ebert argues for this last interpretation.
One clue that is often overlooked[citation needed], is the diegetic sound accompanying the simple image of Chance walking on the lake water. As Chance walks through the woods near the funeral, a series of Rand's personal quotations are read aloud while the coffin is carried to its final resting place. Rand's last quote coincides with the last image of the film: just as the words "Life is a state of mind" are recited, we see Chance walk on water. One clear interpretation then is the suggestion that perception creates our reality.
[edit] Rand's quotes
- "I have no use for those on welfare, no patience whatsoever, but if I am to be honest with myself, I must admit that they have no use for me either."
- "I do not regret having political differences with men that I respect. I do regret however, that our philosophies kept us apart."
- "I could never conceive why I could never convince my kitchen staff that I looked forward to a good bowl of chili now and then."
- "I have heard the word "sir," more often than I have heard the word "friend," but I suppose there are other rewards for wealth."
- "I have met with kings; during these conferences I have suppressed bizarre thoughts. Could I beat him in a foot race? Could I throw a ball further than he?"
- "No matter what our facades, we are all children."
- "To raise your rifle is to lower your sights."
- "No matter what you are told there is no such thing as an even trade."
- "I was born into a position of extreme wealth, but I have spent many sleepless nights thinking about extreme poverty."
- "I have lived a lot, trembled a lot, was surrounded by little men who forgot that we entered naked and exit naked and that no accountant can audit life in our favor."
- "When I was a boy, I was told that the Lord fashioned us from His own image, that's when I decided to manufacture mirrors."
- "Security. Tranquility. A Well Deserved Rest. All the aims I have pursued will soon be realized."
- "Life is a state of mind."
[edit] Closing credits
While the closing credits are rolling, bloopers from a scene that does not appear in the movie are played: Sellers, lying on an operating bed, tries in vain to quote inner-city slang and swearwords with a straight face and ends up getting the lines wrong and laughing instead. The audience gets to see Peter Sellers as himself — "out of character". Outtakes like these being shown in a major Hollywood production were very rare at the time, and Sellers reportedly disapproved of the decision to include them — since, by all accounts, it was his attempt to show his skills as an actual actor as opposed to just a comedian. The inclusion of the blooper reel is sometimes blamed[citation needed] for Sellers' failure to win that year's Academy Award for Best Actor.
[edit] Sellers' view
This was Peter Sellers' penultimate film (his last was The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu).
It is said to be the one film about which he was truly passionate since it was an opportunity to showcase his skills as an actor as opposed to being a comedian. Up until then almost all of his films had been straight or black comedies.
Reputedly, he pulled out all the stops to gain the role for himself after reading the book.
[edit] Television clips
The film makes continued use of actual television clips throughout. These clips are part of the ambient visual and audio background, presented as a natural occurrence of a television being on in the room where the scene is taking place. The clips were chosen by Dianne Schroeder, and are referenced in the film credits as "Special Television Effects." These clips are an essential element of the film. They provide a window into the mind of Chance, who knows nothing of the world outside the old man's home except from what he's learned on television.
- A car being driven out on The Price is Right. (This clip was later sampled for the 1981 song "New Car!", performed by Daniel Amos)
- Orchestral program, playing Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, the "Unfinished Symphony."
- Scene from Jezebel, "Yowsah!"
- Sealy mattress commercial: "It's a Sealy Posturepedic morning! Yeah!".
- Scene from Sesame Street, with the song "Different People, Different Ways" sung by Buffy Sainte-Marie and Big Bird.
- Lt. Mumbly cartoon, "I dare you to stop me in my Super Cop Clobberer."
- Green Acres scene.
- Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
- Captain Kangaroo scene.
- Quaker State Motor Oil commercial.
- Washington Post commercial. This commercial is composed of a sequence of short clips and pictures: one of these is a picture of Paul McCartney performing live in a concert. McCartney composed and produced the song Come and Get It, which appeared on the soundtrack of Peter Seller's 1969 film The Magic Christian (co-starred by McCartney's fellow Beatle Ringo Starr). McCartney's picture can be seen, for just a fraction of second, around minute 17.51.
- Basketball Jones cartoon and song (sung by Cheech and Chong), including the line "I've got more moves than Ex-Lax!"
- Get Smart, "Pardon me for intruding at a time like this, but were you very close to Max?" "Are you kidding? We were inseparable."
- Fuzzbuster commercial, "You wouldn't think of driving without your rear view mirror. And yet some people still drive without a Fuzzbuster."
- Gatorade commercial, "Ever watch a game on TV and see the players chuggin' down this stuff? Ever wonder why?"
- Scene from either Land of the Lost or Days of Our Lives (actor Wesley Eure)
- Sanford and Son scene.
- Scene from the film Little Caesar.
- Scene from The Beverly Hillbillies.
- Match Game clip.
- Lilias! Yoga and You exercise program.
- Paul Lynde on The Hollywood Squares.
- Love-making scene from The Thomas Crown Affair, featuring Faye Dunaway and Steve McQueen. Hal Ashby served as editor of The Thomas Crown Affair.
- TV news broadcast about a blizzard in the Midwest.
- Documentary or news clip about a wheelchair-bound man who gets his Masters degree.
- Anheuser Busch Natural Light beer commercial: "You can call me Ray."
- Scene from The Gong Show
[edit] Score
The small amount of original music in the film (i.e., written for the film) is by Johnny Mandel and primarily features two recurring piano themes. These are both based on (but not the same as) two Gnossiennes by Eric Satie (No. 4, which is a dark, somber composition, while No. 5 which is slightly jovial). The other major piece of music used is the Eumir Deodato arrangement of the opening fanfare from Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss, in the scene where Chance leaves the house and ventures out into the world for the first time. This composition is widely known for its use in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
[edit] Inspiration
It has been suggested that Kozinski named the character of Chance after a teacher of transcendental meditation he had met at the local TM Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, named Jerry Jarvis, who resembled the calm and simple manner of Chance Gardiner. The TM Center was located at the corner of Chancey and Garden streets.[1] Given the phenomenological flavor of the film in which Chauncey invariably responds to people and phenomena as they present themselves, it is perhaps significant to note that the title 'Being There' is a direct translation of the term 'Dasein' used by the German philosopher Heidegger to describe the essential nature of human beings.
[edit] See also
- Politics in fiction
- The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma, a Polish novel with strong resemblances to Being There
[edit] References
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008) |
[edit] Bibliography
- Finkelstein, Joanne (2007). The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture. I.B. Tauris, 9, 98-99. ISBN 1845113950.
- Neupert, Richard (1995). The End: Narration and Closure in the Cinema. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0814325254.
- Nichols, Peter M.; A. O. Scott, Vincent Canby (2004). The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made. Macmillan, 93-94. ISBN 0312326114.
- Sikov, Ed (2002). Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers. Hyperion. ISBN 0786885815.
- Tichi, Cecelia (1991). Electronic Hearth: Creating an American Television Culture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195079140.
[edit] External links
- Being There at the Internet Movie Database
- Being There at Filmsite.org
- All Movie Guide entry
- Review by Roger Ebert, who puts Being There on his Greatest Movies list
- Films shot in North Carolina
- Western North Carolina Film Commission
- NC Film
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