If I asked if you remember that
Francis Ford Coppola movie based on an S.E. Hinton novel about poor
youths running wild, the one starring Matt Dillon and Diane Lane, you
would almost certainly think of 1983's “The Outsiders.” The
movie is a classic, and it kick-started the careers of several of its
young stars. It turns out, though, that Coppola and Hinton teamed up
on a second movie. While filming “The Outsiders,” the two wrote a
screen adaptation of Hinton's novel Rumble Fish.
After they wrapped “The Outsiders,” they stuck around Tulsa, OK,
where that film was set, to film “Rumble Fish.” They used some of
the same cast and crew, but filmed this one in a much more
experimental style, using black-and-white film and techniques
borrowed from French New Wave and German Expressionist directors. The
movie was a commercial flop, but it has lived on as a cult classic
that, in my mind, outstrips “The Outsiders.”
Matt Dillon
plays Rusty James, a two-fisted teen gang leader who longs to live up
to the legend of his older brother, Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke).
Motorcycle Boy once brokered peace between the gangs, but then left
town. In his absence, heroin has taken over the streets, which have
become a lot meaner. When Motorcycle Boy returns, everyone wonders
what will happen. Rusty James wants to bring the old gang glory days
back while hooking up with his girlfriend (Diane Lane), but it's
unclear whether Motorcycle Boy wants to do much of anything. He seems
to have lost interest in using his considerable street cred, and he
becomes obsessed with the Siamese Fighting Fish down at the pet
store. He refers to them as Rumble Fish, and he develops a conviction
that if the fish were in open water with plenty of room to wander,
instead of penned up in tiny bowls, they wouldn't always try to kill
each other.
This is an
excellent movie, and I can't believe it took me this long to hear
about it. Rourke, Dillon, and Lane are outstanding, and they benefit
from a supporting cast of stars (Dennis Hopper), future stars (Chris
Penn, Laurence Fishburne, Nicolas Cage), and oddballs (Tom Waits).
The black-and-white cinematography is beautiful, casting the grubby
outskirts of Tulsa in stark contrast to the beauty of the film's
stars. Diane Lane, in particular, looks like a million bucks in this
movie.
It's been a
while since I watched “The Outsiders.” I recall it being a good
movie, but very melodramatic. I mean, all that “Stay gold, Pony
Boy” stuff is practically self-satire. All the themes are clearly
explained, which is probably why the movie was such a hit. “Rumble
Fish” is slightly more subtle. It's a pretty obvious metaphor that
Motorcycle Boy sees himself and his fellow youths in those angry,
penned-up fighting fish, but at least Francis Ford Coppola lets you
make the connection for yourself. That, combined with the percussive,
anxiety-inducing soundtrack (by Stuart Copeland of The Police) and
the movie being in black-and-white, probably explains why it failed
at the box office. There was no general audience for this film in
1983, and honestly, there probably isn't today. The good news is that
unlike in 1983, when movies had to live or die by what they made in
the cinema, movies today can thrive on video and streaming, finding
their audience over time.
4 stars out of 5
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