"Frida" is a well-acted and brilliantly directed visual piece of moving art. It shows daring in its ambition and bravado in its use of symbolic visuals. It is a wonder then, why I left the theater feeling so frustrated and uninspired. As compelling as some elements of "Frida" are, in the end the film is just a beautiful journey to nowhere.
"Frida" is the life story of Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek), a famous Mexican artist who lived in the mid-1900s. Her life was peppered with so many noteworthy events that it seems she was a Forrest Gump for the Southern Hemisphere.
Early on in her life, Frida is critically injured in a car crash, the pain of which would follow her for the rest of her life. She overcomes this hardship to marry Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina), the most famous of all Mexican artists. They live an upper-class life while spouting Marxist ideas. Their marriage is open, giving the two of them freedom to sleep with half of the free world, and for Frida, that means either gender.
Frida and Diego are whisked all over the world because of their fame, and they encounter all kinds of famous people, including Nelson Rockefeller and Leon Trotsky. Frida even has an affair with the elderly Trotsky, leading to one of the most disturbing cinematic love scenes I have ever witnessed.
After they return to Mexico, Frida and Diego grow old together and as she lay dying, she is finally recognized for the brilliant painter that she is. The film closes with Frida attending her own exhibit in Mexico while still lying in bed, since she is to ill to move. Just a few days later, she is dead.
In watching Hayek play Frida, we feel that she just can't handle herself behind the wheel. Hayek fought for years for this role, and after winning it, she also produced the film. As hard as she tries to be taken seriously in her role as Frida, one can't help but looking at her and seeing the girl from "Fools Rush In."
Hayek's performance never transcends our initial perceptions of her. In his recent movie "8 Mile," Eminem did a much better job of this -- he got so lost in the role that we didn't even remember that we were watching Eminem. Unfortunately, Hayek sticks out like a sore thumb.
The truth of the matter is that Molina is the star of "Frida," and his performance should win him much acclaim. Molina's portrayal of the larger-than-life Marxist artist Rivera is the centerpiece of the film. In spite of its title, "Frida" is mostly about Diego, and we are happier for it. Molina has a screen presence about him in this film that keeps us from ever taking our eyes off him, and for some stretches he saves the otherwise monotonous story.
A small army of Hollywood elite was brought in to play bit parts in the film, including Edward Norton, Geoffrey Rush, Ashley Judd and Antonio Banderas.
The best of these was Judd as a bohemian leader of Mexican culture, and the worst was Rush as Trotsky. From the moment he arrives on screen, Rush is never believable as the Communist leader, and all of his scenes seem uncomfortable to the point of distraction.
The best part of "Frida" is its direction. Julie Taymor is extremely talented with visual symbolism (as she displayed with "Titus"), and she takes on many unique styles here. When the couple goes to New York, she has them walking and talking through a real life diorama, producing an amazing effect. To portray Diego's conquering of New York society, she shows him as King Kong on the Empire State building.
These are effective, but none are as intriguing as her use of living art works. Often during the film, Taymor has Hayek pictured in the poses of one of Frida's paintings, with paint all over her face and body so we cannot tell that it is the actress until she begins to move. Taymor does a fantastic job turning the film into a living painting, presenting as interesting a look for a movie as I've ever seen.
So the question remains, with such great direction and a fantastic performance by Molina, why is "Frida" such an uninspiring letdown? It is hard to determine, and I am not sure I know. There is no exploration of Frida's unique style of painting, and the events of her amazing life seem to be completely unlinked like episodes of a sitcom. When it comes right down to it, "Frida" is beautiful to look at, but no fun to watch.
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