Out of Africa (1985)

Written by Kurt Luedtke

Directed by Sydney Pollack

There is a weird milestone that I associate with this film, in that this is the first Best Picture Winner released after I was born. I know that shouldn’t make any difference on whether the film was good or bad, but secretly, I always hoped that it was be a good, or even great, film.

Well, surprise, it’s not! This bloated, nearly three-hour mess has all the excitement of watching a sun beam slowly move across the floor as the hours tick by. It’s beautifully agonizing.

Perhaps I’m being a little unfair. I have definitely seen worse films, even on this list (I’m looking at YOU, Olivier’s Hamlet). It’s just that this film doesn’t really SAY anything. I leave this film wondering, just what was the point?

Let’s start from the beginning. The first 20 minutes or so seem to have a production value of a made-for-TV movie, including some early greenscreen that was probably great for it’s time, but doesn’t hold up now. The scene of Streep’s Karen and Brandauer’s Bror discussing getting married has clear evidence of compositing, which, again, was probably cutting-edge in 1985 but now looks hilariously bad. The opening titles sequence features titles that look straight out of Shining Time Station or Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. It’s jarring, is what I’m saying.

Meryl Streep and Robert Redford

Let’s talk a little about our leads, shall we? I know that, as a gay man, I’m not supposed to say anything against the (usually) impeccable Streep, but oh my god she is not good in this. First, there’s her accent, which is...Danish? British? Eastern European, when it feels like it? The point is, it’s all over the place, and none of them are even all that good. Redford goes full American (so...just normal for him), which is also a little strange as he’s the only one with an American accent and no one says a thing about it. Redford doesn’t really have much to do here, so his performance is forgettable (although the scene where he tells Karen that he doesn’t want to marry her is pretty good). According to the Wikipedia plot summary, Karen learns to love Africa and the African people, yet we don’t really see it. What I mean is, we either 1) don’t see her NOT loving Africa and it’s people or 2) don’t see her learning to love them. She just...shows up and instantly starts helping (after acting like a spoiled brat to her newly-minted husband). Also, if she loves Africa SO much, why does the film make a point to tell us that she never returns there after she gets out?

The dramatic flight sequence

As the film progresses, some of the technical elements DO become better. The score is sweeping, and there is an elegance to how Pollack moves his camera that I definitely appreciated. And, the sequence of flying over Kenya is beautiful, and would not be out of place in a DisneyNature film. The scope of the film reminds me of some of the earlier epics we’ve seen on this list, like Ben-Hur or Lawrence of Arabia. There is a stumble when Streep describes going home to Denmark to recover from syphilis (this is a romance, after all), and while she’s home, she struggles with wanting to go back to Africa, how nothing feels right to her anymore, yada yada yada and yet we DON’T SEE ANY OF IT. I’ve said it before, but film is a show, don’t tell medium, and that whole three minute sequence is agonizing because it’s just Streep talking in her old-woman-spin-the-accent-wheel about something dramatic while we see shots of her husband (again, not Redford, but we’re not here to judge) tending to the farm that he doesn’t care about. I legitimately rolled my eyes, shifted on the couch, and prayed for the end credits.

Looking at the other nominees, I’m surprised this film beat out Witness (which I hear is pretty good) and The Color Purple, which has its own problems but I would still watch over this film. Beautiful shots and famous actors do not a Best Picture make, and I feel like we’re on the cusp of starting to see films that pander to awards, not creativity (I’M COMING FOR YOU, CRASH).

FINAL GRADE: C-