KING OF THE HILL (1993)

Let's talk about "King of the Hill"...



No not that "King of the Hill", I'm talking about the 1993 film directed by Steven Soderbergh.

 

Based on the bildungsroman memoir of writer A. E. Hotchner; a young boy named Aaron (Jesse Bradford) lives in a run-down hotel in St. Louis during "The Great Depression" with his family that are trying very hard to make ends meet through this difficult time in their lives. When the family can't afford to raise two children through their low-income, Aaron's little brother Sullivan (Cameron Boyd) is sent away to live with their uncle. Determined to get his brother back, Aaron tries to find multiple ways to make money that unfortunately doesn't go so well. However, his attempts to earn money for the return of his brother becomes the least of his worries, because when his Mother (Lisa Eichhorn) gets committed to a sanatorium for having tuberculosis, while his Father (Jeroen Krabbé) finally manages to gain a successful job as a traveling watch salesman, Aaron is left alone with little to no contact to his family just as "The Great Depression" is getting worse.



During the time that this film was made, most "Coming-of-Age" films were usually set in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, that would either hint or downplay some of the political struggles that was going on at that time to make the era appear to be pleasant and carefree where the only obstacles that the kids would encounter are the people around them. There were some exceptions like how "A Bronx Tale" would play up the dramas of racial segregation for example, but most films of this kind (especially when being under the R rating) would hardly ever touch upon the hardships that were happening in America. So the fact that this film would take place during such a crucial time as "The Great Depression" was quite different than what any other "Coming-of-Age" films in the 90s would offer. And this film doesn't sugar-coat the era to make it seem like nothing that bad was happening at the time the same way how a film like "Annie" (1982) would. It treats the era nearly as seriously as the famous "Coming-of-Age" drama that was also set during "The Great Depression" "To Kill Mockingbird" by playing on the struggles that people had during the time, as we see people being evicted from their homes and losing their jobs which causes them to resort to living in Hoovervilles, as Aaron and his family are trying hard to survive and avoid living out on the streets. But even though the film plays on the reality that was happening during the 30s, it doesn't deprive itself in complete dread. There are more than a handful of scenes that take either a comical turn, or play on a lighthearted whimsical level, which at times doesn't always go hand and hand with the tough reality that the film sets. You'll have a scene with Aaron and his little brother gaily running around without a care in the world that would be suitable for a live action Disney film; but then later on, there will be a scene when Aaron follows a bloody trail to find that one of the people in the hotel has slit open his wrists. The film's tone for the most part finds that balance of being family friendly and appropriately dark and dramatic, but there are times when it becomes either too happy and upbeat, or too adult, which I suppose why its given the PG-13 rating since scenes like a boy finding a suicide victim is a bit too much to be deemed PG worthy.

 

Though the film on a technical level does a fine job of recreating the 30s while still making it appear to be visual distinctive from its sets, lightning, art direction, costumes, and cinematography; it's more of a performance and character based film, then it is with visuals. I've heard a few people argue that Aaron's situation isn't all that difficult considering that his Father will be eventually returning to him with more money, which makes this whole experience come off as a bit of a waiting game; and though I can't act like I don't see the argument, the events and situations that this kid goes through are still intense. This is a kid who is left all alone by his family during “The Great Depression”, who's in danger of being thrown out of his own home without the aid from anyone since all of his friends and acquaintances are vanishing from his life one by one (either by moving, eviction, jail, or death), and now must heavily rely on his skills of being resourceful and manipulative to get him through these cruel times with little to no food or heat. That's a lot for a young kid to handle. Before all this, he does show his talents and motivation of finding a job to bring back his brother, and lying his way to stay in a private school that his family can't afford, but he would always have some form help by him, whether it being his wise guy best friend who is older than him, or having an understanding teacher. But when the Depression gets worse and he is left all alone to fend for himself, all his skills are rigorously put to the test where he must now really man up in order to survive and stay strong. A big contribution of what makes Aaron's situation appear to be so tough is Jesse Bradford's performance. His line delivery and how he works off of the other actors comes across as natural (even at its corniest), but what makes his performance so stunning is how much expression and emotion that he gives to his character without saying anything. Sure Cliff Martinez's score and the piano work from Michael Glenn Williams play a part in the emotion surrounding those scenes for how melancholy it sounds, but even without the music, Bradford's silent reaction work just as effectively. When an obstacle comes his way, you see the wheels in his head turning of what he should do. When things get more hectic and difficult for him, you see him try as much as he humanly can to remain strong, even though he looks like that he's going to break at any moment. There's never a moment where I felt that he's simply just acting or phoning it, I completely bought that he's in emotional pain from everything that is happening to him!



However, it isn't Brandon's performance and character alone that's well acted, memorable, and interesting because everybody else in the cast brings the same amount of justice. Much like how I feel about the large cast of characters in films like "The Godfather 1 and 2" and "It's a Wonderful Life", this is one of those rare cases where I find every single character and performance to leave an impression. Whether they're Aaron's Family; his older friend Lester (Adrien Brody); his teacher (Karen Allen) and the kids at school; the people who live or work at the Hotel; or the characters who play a very little role in the story (like the traveling salesman who gets evicted from his home), nobody fails to be memorable in some way. Even the characters who are hardly ever interesting, like Katherine Heigl as a young rich girl who takes an interest in Aaron, gives a performance charming enough for her to avoid being boringly forgettable. The only major problem regarding the people who Aaron encounters is how each of their subplots just quickly comes and goes, where I wished that more time was dedicated to some of the people that he encounters since they feel so short-lived. His relationship with his family and his best friend Lester are given the right amount of attention. But then you have a kid who Aaron saves from a pack of bullies who turns out to be rich, and just when you think that these two are going to have a close friendship, we never see him again until a scene at his graduation party, where it turns out that his only purpose is for Aaron to show the audience that he's a good liar while he's given the idea to go into the bird breeding business. We see Aaron spend time with a neighbor that lives across the hall from him played by Spalding Gray, who has a prostitute by his side played by Elizabeth Mcgovern, and as interesting as the characters are and how they interact with him, this subplot ends so abruptly that the film doesn't give itself time to bid them a proper farewell. I understand that Aaron's relationship with all these characters are part of what helps him grow, but given how the film is flooded with so many of them, though not hard to follow, a part of me feels like that these subplots in his journey could've worked better off as a mini-series to really give these characters and performances more time for them to shine. Even the film itself though shot on a cinematic level, still looks like that it could have been made as a TV movie. Also remember earlier when I talked the events in the film that can be either too adult or too childish, well some of the characters that appear in this film can be used as a prime example of that. Again, there's a prostitute that hangs out with Aaron's neighbor who is clearly a type of character aimed for mature audiences for how adult the topic is, but then when we have comic relief baddies like the bellhop at the hotel and the cop who patrols the street who are so over the top nasty that it's almost as if they were taken out of a corky family screwball comedy.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I went into this film expecting this to be competently-made with nothing that special or memorable given how barely anyone seems to remember or talk about it. But just like how Mel Gibson's overlooked film "The Man Without a Face" surprised me for how emotionally deep and engaging it was, this film did the same amount of justice. Jesse Bradford gives a highly realistic performance as a kid who's trying to get through these harsh times; the casting is so spot-on that everyone brings a special performance to each character that they play no matter how uninteresting, out of place, or underused that some of the characters are; and though the tone of telling Aaron's story can be quite uneven at times, the film still has a fair if not perfect balance of being light-hearted and emotionally dark when it needs to be as it artistically captures the era where the story is taking place. I do wish that it were a little longer when it comes to the subplots that Aaron has with the people he encounters, but the film's focus is still where it needs to be, and that's Aaron growing from his horrible experiences to man-up and take more responsibility then he’s ever taken in his life where he only has himself to help. I can't say that this film is a hidden masterpiece, still I do think that it a needs a little more attention for how underrated it is.