Ever seen somebody jump on a bandwagon? I mean, literally jump on to a bandwagon. And I’m not talking about the new definition of ‘literally’ here, I’m talking about the old trusted one when it literally meant ‘literally’.
Well I bet you haven’t. In fact, I bet you don’t even know what a bandwagon is. And, in all honesty, neither do I.
Despite this fatal semantic flaw. Prepare yourself to watch a film blogger utterly self-servingly do a Fosbury Flop straight on to the Carrie (2013) bandwagon by dredging Carrie’s (1976) body from its early grave and reminding you of the brilliance of Brian De Palma’s oddly satisfying coming of age horror.
Carrie (1976)
0 Wins; 2 Nominations (Best Actress (Sissy Spacek, lost to Faye Dunaway for Network), Best Supporting Actress (Piper Laurie, lost to Beatrice Straight for Network))
The Film
Carrie (Spacek) – she’s the protagonist, believe it or not – is approaching her high school prom, but she’s an unpopular little tyke. An outsider and subject of the vicious mirth of her contemporaries, they take great pleasure from the fact that Carrie suffers the mortification of her first period in the very public forum of the gym showers.
Little do they know, Carrie’s home-life is far from an easy one, suffering as she does at the hands of the every-little-thing’s-a-sign-from-God religious evangelism of her maniacal mother (Laurie).
Mind you, that’s the least of their problems. Turns out, and you’ll never believe this, that Carrie’s also got the power of telekinesis. This doesn’t bode well for the meddlesome young ladies (and, bizarrely, a wet-behind-the-ears and unpalatably hammy John Travolta), particularly when they turn up to the dance armed to the back teeth with pig’s blood and conspire to inflict the ultimate humiliation on “Creepy Carrie” (hey, not my words…the words of ‘Boy on Bicycle’ who, it transpires, was played by De Palma’s nephew).
The nominations
This was the first of Sissy Spacek’s six Oscar nominations to date. Having perhaps unluckily missed out three years earlier for Badlands, she would only have to wait another four to strike gold for playing Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner’s Daughter. And the qualities that Spacek brings to Badlands are turned up way past 11 in Carrie. She carries herself with a striking fragility that seems to transcend the paradigm of age. On the cusp of womanhood, she transmogrifies from tragic helplessness to psychotic empowerment with alarming brilliance.
The result is an iconic performance that even the charmingly precocious talent of Chloë Grace Moretz will struggle to match. I admire Moretz very much, but she doesn’t have the wide-eyed other-worldliness that made Spacek such a perfect fit for the role. Spacek came up against another remarkable turn in Faye Dunaway’s macho television producer in Network, and despite Spacek’s splendour, I think this was one call that the Academy nailed. It is interesting that the two roles are not altogether unalike. Paranormal projectiles excepted, the two are lonely, disassociated from their peers and prove a destructive force when allowed to play with the other kids.
Talking of wide-eyed other-worldliness, you can certainly see where young Carrie got it. Look no further than her mad-as-a-box-of-Mormons mother. I should probably disclose that I am a true sucker for over the top mentalists onscreen, and Piper Laurie’s nutcase of a matriarch is a classic example. At times, the psalm-spewing zealot looks like an abominable porcelain curiosity. It will be rather interesting to see whether Julianne Moore pursues a direct imitation of Laurie or something a little more…well, nuanced.
The second of Laurie’s three nominations, she lost out to another one of Network’s extraordinary ensemble. But Beatrice Straight’s win remains a mystery to me. One of those Dench-esque roles of only minute screen-time and one stand-out scene, but forgettable among the litany of truly great performances that the film boasted (William Holden’s being one of my favourite ever).
Although not Best Picture material, the Academy’s cruelest omission was to deny Brian De Palma a Best Director nomination. True, 1976 was a very strong year; so strong in fact that Sidney Lumet somehow missed out on the big win to Rocky’s John G. Avildsen. Bergman and Paluka were among the other nominees while Lina Wertmüller made history by becoming the first ever woman to be recognised. And De Palma’s rejection was far from the biggest outcry; somehow Martin Scorsese’s achievements for the bona-fide masterpiece Taxi Driver were deemed insufficient.
But De Palma’s original and jaw-droppingly artistic adaptation of Stephen King deserved praise of the highest form. His narrative slaloms between intentionally trivial high school tweenie flick, to psychological abuse melodrama, and stopping off on the way for tea at full on crimson-drenched horror. And all of these aspects work to considerable effect. Somehow, he also manages to project insightful comment on the dangers of religious zeal and the trials and graphic tribulations of puberty as well as the physical and mental changes that go with it. And yet he sacrifices none of his directorial flair – utilising Wellesian shots from above and below to make Carrie and her mother look respectively pathetic and irresistible, and the odd shot of enormous pulverising beauty like Carrie’s eventual meltdown and mama’s climactic Jesus impersonation (check out the below video and brace yourself for spoilers).
It’s just rather a shame that the memorable final scene has been ripped-off and parodied so many times that looking back at it now it lacks its original punch. And also a shame that it puts one in mind of Peter Finch posthumously grabbing out for his Oscar. Well it does for me anyway.
And just a final word for Pino Donaggio, who put together a most bodacious score that also deserved a nomination. As capricious as the film’s plot, it ventures from Grange Hill to full on Bates Motel. Perhaps not entirely coincidentally, Bernard Herrman picked up two nominations that year for De Palma’s Obsession and the legendary score to Taxi Driver. Although he was eventually beaten by Jerry Goldsmith’s exceptional work on another horror, The Omen.
Carrie; 1976; Dir: Brian De Palma; Stars: Sissy Spacek; Piper Laurie; William Katt; 98 mins; 8/10
Bloscars 