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Overlooked & Underrated Docs & Features
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A Hybrid Film: Janeane From Des Moines
I first learned about “Janeane From Des Moines” on October 12, while watching the MSNBC program, “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell”. Co-writer/co-producer/lead actor Jane Edith Wilson was a guest that evening. O’Donnell made reference to the Sacha Baron Cohen star-making performance as ‘Borat’ as he introduced Wilson. I was intrigued.
The reference was appropriate.
“Janeane From Des Moines” is a hybrid narrative/documentary feature film. The fact that I heard about it via O’Donnell, on MSNBC, indicated the film’s political nature and polarity. Wilson’s aplomb and clarity on camera that night added to my perception of the gravitas of this movie – as did the clip of her fictional character Janeane tearfully confronting (the real) Mitt Romney at a 2011 primary rally.
Thanks greatly to co-writer/co-producer/director Grace Lee, I was able to quickly see a screener.
To caption the obvious, this is an overtly political film, and one’s attribution of value to it will for most folks be determined by one’s political leanings. Since I share the film’s implied political values, I was sympathetic to the film.
In addition to said sympathies, I was greatly and deeply impressed with both Wilson’s performance as Janeane as well as the standard-bearing quality of the film’s production.
Janeane lives in the confluent worlds of twenty-first century evangelical Christians and Republicans. The narrative is simple: As the Iowa primaries are being fought, her world is falling apart. We follow Janeane’s family and work life as well as her political activities. She’s trying to figure out which of the Republican hopefuls to vote for in the Iowa caucuses, and does some campaigning along the way. As her life enters crisis she approaches several of the potential candidates in an attempt to get help, assurance, something of hope and inspiration from them. She gets, of course, platitudes and talking points.
I don’t hesitate to wonder how would the Democratic candidates have handled this frightened, grief-stricken woman approaching them in a public setting. How would I?
In any case, I was deeply moved and impressed by Jane Edith Wilson as an actor and by her the courage she displayed in placing herself into high-stakes scene’s on the campaign trail to the 2012 presidential election. I was also impressed with the film’s narrative efficiency. The story is told without unnecessary repetition, in a smooth arc toward an unpredictable ending. I was also thoroughly amazed at how the producers were able to create these real-life/fictional scenes. I will be buying the commercial DVD as soon as it’s available to see the ‘making-of’ documentary of the documentary.