Thought Catch-All

From the new issue: Fran Hoepfner on Raising Arizona

“You see, Raising Arizona is a film that encapsulates so much of what’s wonderful about the Coen Brothers’ work; it’s unapologetic in its absurdity. There’s little to no explanation for the madness of this film; when someone gets hit, they go flying ten feet back; every scream or shout is comic, cartoonish. It is what it is. These are two people who have a quick wedding, then jump full-on into something more ridiculous and silly than either of them could ever have accomplished on their own. You don’t doubt though. In the brief prologue of the film, the Coens introduce two characters you fully trust with their love. You root for them. They’re impossible. They’re difficult. One of them has been to jail more than a handful of times. But what they want is something we all want.

"I’ve watched the opening chase of A Hard Day’s Night countless times, and every time George Harrison trips, falls, and laughingly picks himself up, I think, he was only 21 years old. The older I get, the more my heart hurts at the sight of Paul McCartney’s cherubic grin. Their youthful energy is a surprise no matter how many times I’ve witnessed it on screen. Alun Owen’s script documents the truth of The Beatles’ hectic touring life, and aside from occasional flights of fancy (John Lennon phasing through solid matter) and the omission of unsavory activities (tweaking on legal speed), the documentarian nature of the film isn’t just a stylistic choice. The guys really were that funny, and their band was as tight as hell. All of that was real.

As were their fans. Girls that are now older than my own 60-year-old mother shake in the throes of hysteria forever enshrined. The Four’s legend wouldn’t exist without all of those tears. The extras in the train station were actual fans, and those faces, twisted with unbelievable longing, are the heart of A Hard Day’s Night. There’s just no faking the jet-engine roar of their love.”

—Sara Gray, “I’ll Cry Instead”

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