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I’m all for any excuse to sit back and watch Paul Newman act. Nobody’s Fool is a late-period masterpiece of a performance from Newman. The movie surrounding it isn’t too shabby either, but the heart of the matter is that Nobody’s Fool operates best as a character portrait of a damaged man trying to make good. Or not so much “make good,” as he has change and the opportunity for growth and change thrust upon him, six of one, half-dozen of the other when you get right down to it.
The film follows Sully, a 60-year-old borderline-alcoholic, who drifts from one construction job to another, all the while avoiding responsibility and never-knowing the family he left behind years ago. Newman is given ample opportunity for Great Acting Moments, you know them well, they frequently play before the winner is announced at an awards show as a display for why a certain performance is nominated, but he never indulges. Instead, he finds the truth and quiet resolve in this man and forges ahead with one of his minimalist performances, which are far more effective. It is easy to forget just how great an actor Newman was because of his smaller choices.
And here he is, forcing us to care about this rascal as he slowly begins to get his life in order and change before our eyes. Newman gives this man a sense of humor and a morality beneath the stunted adolescence of the character. This man wouldn’t appear out of place in a Southern Gothic novel, yet while he’s as tragic as any hero from that genre, he’s also an equally hilarious son-of-a-bitch. It’s a tight-rope to walk for an actor, and the degree of difficulty is high. If the performance fails, so does the movie. But Newman’s stock-and-trade was lovable rascals, whether or not they made good is dependent on the movie.
The supporting players do a solid job across the board. It’s nice to see Bruce Willis play a real person instead of a walking/talking action figure, Jessica Tandy adds a touch of gravitas to Sully’s landlord, Pruitt Taylor Vince play his best friend who is also mildly retarded, Dylan Walsh is his estranged son tenuously trying to reconnect with his father. Each of them hit moments of quietness, warmth and grace, only Melanie Griffith, as the married object of Sully’s affection, seems slightly out of step with the rest. Even then, she’s never embarrassing, only mildly awkward in a few brief moments as she lacks depth and weight as an actress.
Nobody’s Fool wisely foregrounds Newman’s central performance and lets everything else play second fiddle to it. The film creates a rich portrait of a man slowly changing, while the story doesn’t seem to be about much happening at all. Yet there is a profound slow burn going on at all times. The film may not be an all-out classic, but it’s so close to being there that its minor shortcomings tend to stick out more than they should. But like I said earlier, any excuse to sit back and watch Paul Newman act his ass off is a great one in my book.
