Respond to these rapid questions in our Faraway quiz and we will tell you which Faraway character you are. Play it now.
“Far and Away” is a film that combines breathtaking visual splendor with a narrative so simple-minded that it appears aimed at teenagers; while watching it, I was reminded of the “Childhoods of Famous Americans” books, in which plucky young people made their way in life. It’s disheartening that such a lavish and costly production, featuring a major actor like Tom Cruise, could be dedicated to such a shallow story. Do they believe the crowd has gone completely insane? Cruise plays Joseph, the son of a poor working guy in Ireland, in the film. When his father is unable to pay the land rent, goons working for the landlord burn down the family’s house.
Joseph swears revenge and sets out to kill the man. (and is bid a cheerful farewell by the entire village, so little does he conceal his intentions). When he is found lurking in a stable and beaten to within an inch of his life by the sadistic overseer, he is taken to the landlord’s mansion for treatment, and it is there that he first falls in love with his rebellious, headstrong daughter Shannon, portrayed by Nicole Kidman.
She is sick of being a proper, well-behaved young woman and longs to travel to America, where she has heard that land is being given away. When she runs into Joseph by accident later in Dublin, she invites him to accompany her, and with nothing to lose, he agrees.
Their chance meeting is not an accident; rather, it is the fundamental strategy of the entire plot, which is a series of chance meetings. Perhaps this is because the plot is so arbitrary and the personalities are so transparent that nothing can be explained beyond coincidence.
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this Faraway quiz.
Of course, Joseph and Shannon journey as siblings.
It is an ancient convention of such story formulas that the young man and woman (who everyone can see are destined for each other) must go through a time of mutual antagonism before recognizing they’re in love. They arrive in Boston and find lodging in a brothel, where young Joseph works as a bare-knuckle fighter, earning some local renown. Why a brothel rather than a lodging house? The film is in dire need of local color.
Faraway Quiz
In the same spirit, why does Joseph become a boxer instead of, say, a street cleaner, a hod-carrier, or a longshoreman? Because the film has no idea who these people are or why we should care about them, it cobbles together cliches from old boxing movies to provide a third-hand narrative and manufactured tension.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Faraway quiz.
Here’s a boxing scenario test you can always use: Is it more essential who wins the fight or why the hero is boxing? It was the latter in “Raging Bull” that pushed him to such punishment. It’s who triumphs in “Far and Away,” and the outcome of every fight is completely determined by the needs of the story. We even get the tired cliche of the hero being pounded to a pulp before abruptly becoming enraged and pounding the other guy to a pulp.
Meanwhile, in a series of parallel developments much beloved in classics of my childhood such as the Hardy Boys adventures, Shannon’s parents and the evil overseer (who considers Shannon his intended) also decide to emigrate to America, whereupon they, too, head for Oklahoma, so that all of the characters can be involved in the same land rush. Please give us a rest.
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Shannon’s father, played by Robert Prosky, is such a jumble of contradictions and character quirks that it’s difficult to tell who’s at home, particularly in the ridiculous Oklahoma scenes. Shannon and Joseph are both dimwitted characters who are completely victims of the narrative, with no personality traits other than those commonly assigned to genre fiction captives. Do they know they have nothing intelligent, witty, or surprising to say throughout the film? Do they give a damn? Does the crowd agree? Perhaps not. The film’s payoff is a stunning high-angle picture of a land rush in Oklahoma, with hundreds of horsemen, wagons, and runners tearing through the sagebrush in quest of a desirable homesite.
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(In what has become the film’s low-comedy double act by this point, Shannon’s parents cheat and are not discovered.) Of course, the property rush appears to be fantastic. “Far and Away” is the first film in many years to be shot in 70mm. (rather than being blown up to 70 from 35mm). It looks fantastic. If you must, see it in a theater with excellent projection.
If the late David Lean hadn’t perished before filming, his own planned 70mm epic, “Nostromo,” might have been in theaters by now. It would have followed in the literate, thoughtful lineage of films like “Doctor Zhivago” and “Lawrence of Arabia.” I’m depressed thinking about them and reading this gullible boy’s tale. Are audiences considered to be incapable of seeing great films while also listening to great dialogue? Are they so impatient that boxing sequences must be substituted for character scenes? Is there anything else to this film besides visual spectacle?
For more personality quizzes check this: Breeding Difficulty Quiz.
