Post by StevePulaski on Apr 22, 2018 12:53:13 GMT -5
The Last Command (1928)
Directed by: Josef von Sternberg
Directed by: Josef von Sternberg
Leo Andreyev (William Powell, left) addresses Sergius Alexander (Emil Jannings) in The Last Command.
Rating: ★★★
Doing what could be considered the inverse of what he did for his previous film, Underworld, Josef von Sternberg approaches The Last Command with intent to create an elaborate narrative as opposed to one slight enough that his technical prowess inevitably overtakes the story. That's not to say the moving parts and mise-en-scène of von Sternberg's appreciated drama don't come into play during integral parts, but unlike Underworld, which had a narrative so communicable that virtually anyone could make sense of it to the point of it not requiring your full attention, part of the appeal of The Last Command is the subtleties of its narrative.
Pay close attention and you'll discover, like Easter eggs, von Sternberg's hardened perception of Hollywood, its exploitation of foreigners, and how immigrants can counterintuitively leave their homelands where they had status and wealth to come to America to be perpetually stuck at the bottom (an unthinkable reality in 1928).
The film opens with Hollywood director Leo Andreyev (played with expertise by William Powell) sifting through photos of actors-for-hire to cast in his next film. He comes across the picture and corresponding resume of Sergius Alexander (Emil Jannings), a middle-aged Russian willing to work for $7.50 a day. Andreyev immediately casts Sergius in his film, and upon his arrival, throws him a general's uniform; Sergius will play a rugged Russian leader in this film, a role he knows all too well. This close-to-home exchange leads us to flash back ten years prior, when Russia was in the midst of a bloody revolution, with a great deal of power loaned to the Czar's cousin, the very own Grand Duke Sergius Alexander. Sergius' role with the Russian imperial army is to combat revolutionists — portrayed in true Hollywood fashion as unkempt, nasty drunkards. He soon becomes enamored with Natalie Dabrova (Underworld's Evelyn Brent), a gorgeous dame, despite their conflicting political ideologies. Sergius is forced to come to terms with this treacherous chapter in his life if he ever dreams of commanding anything in his life, particularly this lofty film-role, which has potential to stretch beyond a one-off role.
von Sternberg quizzically examines the relationship foreigners have with Hollywood and how the opportunities they have present themselves quite often yet have a non-negotiable price-tag attached. If Sergius wants employment from Andreyev — who we can assume has enough power to blacklist the starving actor if he disobeys — he needs to accept it in the form of portraying a caricatured version of his past life. Unfortunately, this prompts complicated feelings of grief and reckoning, the likes of which Sergius wasn't prepared for, and by the end, still unsure he can fully grapple despite opportunity showing itself after such a long period of time. The Last Command doesn't capitalize on these emotions as thoughtfully as it could, for it chooses to be more detail-specific in accounting for Sergius' life in wartorn Russia, but it shows us enough to get a sense of the stranglehold the events have had on his life.
Emil Jannings takes on the role of Sergius so thoughtfully that it begs praise. von Sternberg was long fascinated with the dichotomous notions of theatrical, stage acting and film acting, for in his world, the two were not synonymous. Jannings, who later won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance here, still remaining the only German to ever take home the respective award nearly 100 years later, was the perfect character actor to choose here. von Sternberg's other popular male lead of the silent era, George Bancroft, couldn't have mastered the differences in gravitas necessary to make Sergius' life in Hollywood versus his life in Russia so stark in their contrasts. Jannings, whose versatility on display here is quite possibly some of the best he ever displayed in his comparatively short career to other silent film stars. After the fall of the Third Reich, where he saw brief gainful employment under Joseph Goebbels starring in Nazi propaganda, Jannings became blacklisted in both Germany and Hollywood, effectively ending what could've been a film career of unbelievable prestige. At least there will always be The Last Command.
The Last Command is sometimes humorous but ultimately poignant in its depiction not only of American/Russian relations, but of the film industry in general. von Sternberg's brushstrokes of visual storytelling, in conjunction with Bert Glennon's cinematography, create an even-handed account of two complex stories that effectively mines them for their emotional resonance. This is another tardily recognized but admittedly cherished work that shows how uniformly solid von Sternberg was at crafting an impeccable silent picture.
Starring: Emil Jannings, Evelyn Brent, William Powell, and Jack Raymond. Directed by: Josef von Sternberg.