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ON THE BIG SCREENIHHB
By Michael Rausch
arts@barbnstablepatriot.com
Once again, we are beset with
Hollywood beingsoinept ,solacking
in creative, so bereft of originality,
the past becomes the present and
we are subje cted to yet another
remake.
Horror movies are avirtual hold-
ing dock for remakes, sequels and
ref-toolings,asseenwith allthe vari-
ous incarnations of Frankenstein's
monster,Dracula and his vampires
and allthe other supernaturalcrea-
tures that make up cinema's hor-
ror hall of fame. Suspense thrillers
should never be mistakenfor horror
movies, though.
The suspense thriller is a dif-
ferent breed entirely; try as film-
makers might to give them some
kind of supernatural edge, as with
Halloween 's Michael Myers and
Friday the 13th's Jason Vorheesand
their relentless unwillingnessto die
(very Frankenstein monster-like).
Edge of your seat, suspense driven
dramas, such as the latest insuf-
ferably mediocre remake, When a
Stranger Calls, are not the same
thing and therefore should not be
accorded the same latitude horror
movies are given, even when the
filmmakers, as is the case here,
shamelessly rip off history.
In this below-average scream
fest, Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle)
is your average high school teen
queen , with average boyfriend
problems (she sees him as her best
friend) and averageparental issues
(Dad'supset because shewent way
over her cell phone minutes last
month). She's grounded and can't
attend the big pep rally/bonfire,
but she can make some money to
help pay for her phone minutes by
babysitting.
She agreesto baby-sit for the two
kids of an affluent couple who live
in an ultra-swank house out in the
boondocks. Almost from the mo-
ment Jillarrives,creepylittlenoises
unnerve her, setting the stage for
the evening to come.
She starts to get phone callsfrom
a mysterious voice who breathes
heavy, asks who she is and why
she's there, then questions if she's
checked on the kids lately. Of
course, the calls from the stranger
are interspersed with calls from
friends and the affluent couple, so
we're never quite sure who's call-
ing when the phone rings; a real
piece of suspense-inducing that
director Simon West never plays
up enough.
Jillmakesfriends over the phone
with alocalpoliceman,who assures
her he will trace where the call is
coming from the next time the
stranger phones. If you've seen the
trailer for When A Stranger Calls ,
and Idare sayanyonewho'sreading
this review has, given their appar-
ent interest in the movie, then you
already know what should be the
movie'sbest kept secret -the calls
are coming from inside the house!
Knowing that going into the
theatre defuses all sense of dread
and anxiety long before the film's
climax,involvingan ail-too-Jason-
like marauder, plays itself out.
West uses all the tried and true
creep show tactics, not very suc-
cessfully, to try and engender some
measure of tension. Extreme close-
ups,Psycfto-cloned music,shadowy
and darkened rooms, the camera
slowingcreepingaround corners,ev-
erythingwe've come to expect from
the standard fright night flick.
The problem iswe've come to ex-
pect it precisely becausewe've seen
it allbefore,from allthe bad slasher
movies of the 1970s and 1980s right
up to the Scream franchise and its
parody,the Scary Movie series.And
if you're familiar at all with that
classic horror yarn of teen angst,
Carrie, then you won't be the least
bit surprised by the ripped off
conclusion.
The fact that When A Stranger
Calls has a run time of less than 90
minutes has nothing to do with any
taut direction on the part of West,
and everythingto do withhisinabil-
ity to satisfactorily and satisfyingly
re-imagine the genre. Don't bother
answering the call for this one.
Trailers: Firewall
Harrison Ford stars as a security
executive for a global bank, whose
familyisheld captivebyamurderous,
high-techthief (PaulBettany).Ford
must figure out away to counter his
own security system and loot the
bank for millions, or else his wife
and childrenwill be killed.Virginia
Madsen, Alan Arkin and Robert
Patrick co-star. (Now Playing)
The Pink Panther
Steve Martin reprises the role
madefamousbythelate Peter Sellers
of bumblingFrench police inspector
Jacques Clouseau.Clouseauiscalled
in when a priceless diamond ring,
ThePinkPanther, disappears at the
scene of a murder. Jean Reno, Be-
yonce Knowles and Kevin Kline co-
star.Shawn (Cheap er by the Dozen)
Levy directs. (Now Playing)
When A Stranger Calls
Harwich Junior Theater...
CONTINUED FROM PAGE C:1
ible child. His delivery
isvery reigned in as the
storyteller, allowinghim
latitude when playing
the young boy, whose
lifeisstillone of play and
undiminished hope.
Thehead of the family,
the eldest sister, Kate is
played superbly by Kim
Crocker. She is the cen-
tral figure, and the only
one who works outside
of the home. Using her
position of breadwin-
ner of her family, she
constantly tries to flex
an almost motherly in-
fluence and power over
her sisters.
Maggie , Agnes and
Rose are convincingly
played byMaeve Twom-
ey, Tamara Harper and
Meredith L. Barrette.
All three fall into their
places in the pecking
order of their domestic
household. Maggie and
Agnes, strong contend-
ers asmatriarchs, never
quite gain that status.
Rose, the slow-witted
one, seems easily ma-
nipulated,but ironically
isthe strongest willed in
tryingto escape by mar-
rying a clansman from
the "high country."
Alissa Doherty, plays
the youngest sister ,
Chris,the mother of Mi-
chael. Her performance
is strong and steady.
Being an unwed mother
isboth embarrassingto
her, her faith and family.
Sheispowerlessinmak-
ing the child's father,
Gerry, played by Mat-
thew Paul Keefe, stop
the wanderlust that
keeps him coming in
and out of her life.
Thepart ofUncleJack
is played by Art Devine.
Forced by illness, the
aging Irish priest has
come home to conva-
lesce after spending
his entire life among
African tribes. Devine's
dynamicportrayalisthe
glue that holds this the-
atrical piece together.
The actor 's stage pres-
ence is like a powerful
magnet that draws you
to watchhim.Themulti-
layered performance
pulls you like a deep
and strong river current
from beginning to end.
The HJT production
of Dancing at Lughnasa
brings all of the aspects
of what good theater is
all about. An excellent
script , superb acting
and fine directing make
this a meaty and re-
warding experience for
anytheatergoer looking
for top-notch drama
and entert ainment.
The show runs weekends
through Feb. 26. For tickets
and information call the HJT
box office at 508-432-2002.
jljfljj^^. ...picturesque
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Ol canopied dirt
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Gift expands knowledge of GammelPsimportance
CCMA library offers
riches in research
By Britt Beedenbender
arts@barnstablepatriot.com
While none would dispute that
the Cape Cod Museum of Arts is
home to a broadening collection of
works by American artists whose
lives at some point or another were
intertwined with Cape Cod, many
are unaware that the museum also
has an impressive research library
relating to American art.
The library,whichis staffed entire-
ly by volunteers,is the repository of
over 3,000 artists'files,thousands of
books,videotaped artist interviews,
8 mm films of artists, and scores
of letters and other miscellaneous
documents related to the museum's
collections.
It is an impressive resource that
is known primarily to its members
and staff. A recent gift, however, of
thirty-three boxes of books from
the private library of the American
allegorical painter Robert Hale
Ives Gammell (1893-1981) might il-
luminate its importance to an even
broader public.
Gammell is an intriguing figure
in American art. Prior to serving as
an intelligence officer in World War
I, he studied with WilliamPaxton in
Boston, traveled to Provincetown,
then left for a"grandtour"of Europe,
Africaandthe near-East.Considered
a classical realist, Gammell was an
admirer of Veronese and David, and
created works of complex allegori-
cal,historical,or literaryscenes that
were composed of dramatic figural
groups in elaborat e costume and
architectural settings.
Unfortunately Gammell'sinterest
in grand illustrative paintings was
not well-received as it was consid-
ered "old school" by the modernists
whose works were now changingthe
course of American painting. It was
also the period of the Great Depres-
sion and the call for large scale com-
missions and public art was barely
audible. Gammellemerged from the
Depression achanged man.Gravely
concerned over what he saw as the
extinction oftraditionalpainting,he
began to write and teach, as well as
continuing to paint.
A voracious reader, Gammell's
privatelibraryeventuallywent to the
Guild of Boston Artists. Recently,it
became apparent that they neither
had the space nor the resources to
catalog nor store the books. Eliza-
beth IvesHunter,Executive Director
of the Cape Cod Museum of Art,
seized on the opportunity and sug-
gested to the Guildthat they donate
Gammell's library to the museum.
"It fits into our mission because
Gammell was painting in Provinc-
etown during the years 1912-1963."
The museum has also hosted two
Gammell exhibitions, including an
exhibit of his well-known twenty-
three panel series based on Fran-
cis Thompson's poem "Hound of
Heaven."
Gammell's collection of books re-
flects hisvaried interests and reveal,
in part, the inspiration for some of
his allegoricalpaintings. The books
will all be cataloged, stored, and
made available for public use - a
feat of no small order. Hunter notes
that "The step to keep his books
together is a key move to preserve
an artist's legacy, and that's what
museum'sdo."Currently the collec-
tion is available to the public on an
"appointment only"basis,but much
of the general public doesn't even
know it exists. "What we have to do
is get the word out," says Hunter.
In an effort to increase the public's
accessibility to the library's hold-
ings, Hunter is pushing hard to set
up a Web site that would place the
collection's database online.
This isjust one of the many initia-
tivesHunter hasplanned. Concerned
that "the high cost of living on the
Capeismakingit harder and harder
for the yearround population to sup-
port the museum,Hunter entreats "if
you don't have the money to spend,
come volunteer!"
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