As the general state of world suddenly turns for the worse, for most people alive today the closest point of reference when things were so bad is in 1970s. In USA that era was marked by economic woes, social decay and many people taking life choices that proved to be wrong and deeply embarrassing in retrospect. Sometimes those bad choices even affected those who were part of country’s elite and one such spectacular episode is a subject of Patty Hearst, 1988 biopic directed by Paul Schrader.
The script for the film was written by Nicholas Kazan, based on the autobiographical book by Patricia “Patty” Hearst, young woman who became household name due to kidnapping and its controversial aftermath. The plot begins in February 1974 when Patty Hearst (played by Natasha Richardson), grand-daughter of famous newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearts, one of the richest and most powerful men of 20th Century America, attends University of California in Berkley. She cares little of politics, devoting most of her time to studies and her boyfriend Steven Weed (played by Scott Kraft). It all changes one night when she is abducted from her home by members of extremist left-wing group Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). Small group had declared war on United States and its leader Cinque Mtume (played by Ving Rhames) hopes that he could use Patty as bargaining chip for forcing release of captured supporters or at least ransom money from her rich family. In the meantime, Patty is kept in closet blindfolded, subjected to constant verbal abuse and occasional rape. This continues for weeks until she is finally allowed to remove blindfold; when offered to leave or to join the ranks of SLA, she appears fully indoctrinated and opts for the latter. She is given new revolutionary nom de guerre “Tania”, trained in urban combat and finally given a gun with which she participates in bank robberies and terrorist activities. She remains with SLA even when Cinque and most of his comrades die in shoot out with police. When she is finally arrested by FBI, she is brought to trial during which she would claim that her crimes were result of duress and brainwashing and not her free will.
Patty Hearst created media sensation and inspired number of films, with 1979 television production Ordeal of Patty Hearst starring Lisa Eilbacher being the only actual (or conventional) reconstruction of real events. Nine years later Paul Schrader knew he had to try something different. As a feature film, Patty Hearst didn’t have to conform to strict censorship standards, so it featured explicit swear words and even some nudity. Schrader, on the other hand, insisted on showing the events strictly from Patty Hearst’s perspective. So, the first third of the film is taking place in closet with Patty Hearst being scared, confused and not sure whether she would live or die; her confusion is further displayed through hallucinatory images that make strong contrast between her captivity and her happy life in privileged family. At times Schrader goes too far and make Patty Hearst look like combination of pretentious art film and 1980s music video, with uninspired musical score by Scott Johnson making the effect even worse. When Patty Hearst loses her blindfold, the film suddenly becomes conventional and starts looking like retelling of sensational true stories so typical of American television in last decades of 20th Century. Even the debate about whether Patty Hearst was an innocent victim or terrorist is only briefly mentioned at the end. Same goes for the issue whether she got preferential treatment at court because of her family connection or got harsh sentence because of political considerations. What helps this film and makes it watchable is excellent cast. English actress Natasha Richardson flawlessly deals with American accent and confidently portrays complex character of a deeply confused, physically and emotionally woman who suffers from what would later be known as Stockholm Syndrome. Ving Rhames is also great in the role of intense, elloquent and charismatic man who manages to seduce group of like-minded individuals for the cause of revolution that would look hopeless to most normal people; and the character later becomes scary when it turns out that his revolutionary plans are result of fatal messianic delusions, bound to violently crash with reality. William Forsythe and Frances Fisher are also good as middle-class married couple who willingly joined SLA in order to “liberate” themselves only to suffer from same kind of frustration and bias they had in their former life. Although ultimately watchable, Patty Hearst is a film that is most interesting not by its own merit but by showing how times have changed. A lot of extreme revolutionary rhetoric of Cinque and his followers is now part of mainstream discourse and enforced by the very establishment SLA tried to bring down.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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