Western and melancholy: «Lucky»

Cinema Wednesdays - Jonas Follonier

Never before has a film managed to capture such an atmosphere. In an admirable tour de force, John Carroll Lynch signs a feature film that will remain the first trace of a new genre, but also the last. Lucky is a complete work of art, combining all the ingredients for a melancholy Western. Our large-format article.

Lucky is the directorial debut of John Carroll Lynch, a veteran of American cinema who has worked with the greats such as Clint Eastwood. With this, his first feature-length independent film, Lynch takes on a genre that is so difficult to revive, but which he nonetheless meets with success: the Western.

There's one fact that can't be overlooked. The nonagenarian actor at the center of Lucky, who is both subject and object, died on September 15, between the end of shooting and the film's release. I didn't know it myself at the time of the screening. But as I write this review, this funereal dimension takes on its full meaning and importance, as we are indeed dealing with a tribute film.

A culmination of classic westerns

Indeed, actor Harry Dean Stanton was returning from a long career, which had seen him take on a starring role only once before, in 1984's Paris, Texas. Lynch's film is tailor-made for this singular artist, who may not have been fully appreciated. Justice has now been done with Lucky, featuring an old man living like a lone cowboy in the Arizona desert in 2017. There's no need to look for a story or a scenario: the film is this character.

The film is also about cinema. The purest of them all, the Western. A series of subtle allusions to the great works of the American West, Lucky has nostalgic fans shouting: «Cinema isn't dead! Of course not. What a joy it is to savor the first scene, where we witness the daily rituals of the nonagenarian, consisting of a first cigarette, a short yoga session and breakfast in a dinner in the area.

The old man spends his days solving crossword puzzles, wandering the streets, buying his bottle of milk and watching game shows. In the evening, it's time for real life: the bistro, where, sipping a bloody maria, Lucky listens to his friend complain about the escape of his land tortoise. An unlikely synopsis for a remarkable piece of cinema: renewing and reviving all the hallmarks of the classic Western, Lucky seems to be a kind of culmination. This is particularly true of one of the film's great scenes, where the talents of actors Harry Dean Stanton and James Darren merge with a grandiose score.

Melancholy and misanthropy

The film also draws its genius from Lucky's lines. Playing up his pretence of misanthropy when in public, the subtle yet authentic American «reac’» is rather quiet. But his outings are worth their weight in gold. When he enters the diner, here's what he says to the boss: «You're nothing» (- «Neither are you»). When he refuses to speak to a notary he doesn't think much of, he says: «I still prefer awkward silences to the usual banalities.»

Behind the persona he likes to play for the other villagers, there's an admirable philosophical depth to this endearing soul. His reflections on loneliness, in particular, which we won't transcribe here to let you discover them in the cinema, serve the existential dimension of Lucky. Objects, too, respond to the melancholy of the West, characteristic of all interesting beings: harmonicas and cigarettes give off waves that lead to the film's ultimate theme, the awareness of death.

«Nothing is permanent.» It sounded like Heraclitus. In reality, we were witnessing the prophetic words of an actor who was soon to leave us. This film was his sublime farewell. How beautiful!

Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © Provincetown Film