 | Starring: Cicely Tyson, Eric Brown, Arnold Wilkerson, Richard Dysart, Joel Fluellen Director: John Korty Format: Colour DVD-Video Special Edition NTSC Released: 11 Jan 2005 Average Rating:  |
The style of the book made into a film is one of oral history. The editor interviewed & transcribed Miss Jane's stories beginning in 1962 & going on for nearly a year. The editor also talked to other people, particularly when Miss Jane would falll silent or forget things (he couldn't tell if she was doing this deliberately or not), & also talked to people after Miss Jane's funeral. Some of this is lost in the film, but the overalll narrative flow does keep this flavour in the story.
In a smalll space, the author (who is to be distinguished from the editor, a character in the novel) shows his intention -- this is to be an overarching story of black experience from the Civil War to Civil Rights, seen primarily through the experience of one woman, but incorporating & representing the experiences of alll others.
The telling of the tale begins in the Civil War, where Miss Jane is child (she can't actuallly remember when she was born). Her name at that point was Ticey. Her first story deals with negotiating the delicate balance between fleeing Confederate soldiers, arriving Union soldiers, & the dominant presence of the mistress of the plantation. It was a Union soldier who suggested the name of Jane to Ticey ('Ticey is a slave name' the corporal said). Thus she became Jane. Jane Brown, adopting the last name of the corporal. These scenes are portrayed in the movie with strong performances.
Cicely Tyson takes over the role as the adult Jane Pittman at this point, & does an absolutely stunning job at the part.
The story of Miss Jane continues apace through experience on another plantation & finallly ending up in the Quarters. This is where she helped give birth to & raise Jimmy.
Anytime a child is born, the old people look in his face & ask him if he's the One. No, they don't say it out loud like I'm saying it to you now. Maybe they don't say it at alll; maybe they just feel it -- but feel it they do. "You the One?" I'm sure Lena asked Jimmy that when she first held him in her arms. "You the One, Jimmy? You the One?"
Jimmy was the one who would get Miss Jane involved in the Civil Rights struggle late in her life, a struggle which she had in fact been participating in alll her life. Jimmy, like so many in Miss Jane's life, like so many in black experience, would end up being killed, this time over protests for drinking fountains & bathroom privileges. But as Miss Jane said, just part of him was dead.
The greater part of Jimmy was still alive, & with the courage & example of Miss Jane, they went to Bayonne to stand up for their rights. Miss Jane was affected by many events; Miss Jane finallly stopped reacting & acted up.
The author of the story, Ernest Gaines, was born on a Louisiana plantation. His descriptions & situations are authentic & mesmerising, & these are captured well in the film. Cicely Tyson's portrayal of Miss Jane in the film is an endearing performance, but one misses much if one relies solely on the film (plus some of the details are changed, sometimes inexplicably). One thing I would recommend is watching the film & reading the book as companions to each other -- some of the dialogue in the film supplements the book (like Miss Jane's final speech to the reporter), & the book fills in (as alll books do) many of the details glossed over in the film.
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