Ronan Vibert, Vibertology, Cats Meow, Eddie Izzard, Kirsten Dunst
n. The Cat's Meow
Movie (Canada/Germany) 2002 release (2000 production) 
Ronan content: approx 20% (112 mins)
Character: 'Big Joe' Willcombe, WR Hearst's Aide-de-Camp
Cast:Edward Herrmann William Randolph Hearst, Kirsten Dunst Marion Davies, Eddie Izzard Charlie Chaplin, Cary Elwes Thomas Ince, Joanna Lumley Elinor Glyn, Jennifer Tilly Louella Parsons, Ronan Vibert Joseph Willcombe
Dir: Peter Bogdanavich   Writer: Steven Peros 
Availablity: NTSC DVD £15.99 from Play.com/Amazon.com
PAL  DVD currently unavailable
Plot/Comments:

A beautifully designed and acted  piece of Hollywood folklore which doesn't quite come off.
     Bogdanavich's first film in  years is a look at the 'true' events surrounding the accidental  murder of Thomas Ince during a birthday party given for him on William Randolph Hearst's yacht. 
        A largely terrific ensemble cast is used to illustrate the Charlie Chaplin-Marion Davies-William Randolph Hearst love triangle. It is to the credit of Edward Herrmann (Hearst) and Kirsten Dunst (Davies, his paramour) that their relationship seems the most devoted and natural in the film: "you are my whole world" sobs a distraught Hermannn, whose warm, inflexible and vulnerable Hearst makes their relationship believable.
         Other than Dunst's mature and animated performance, perhaps the most striking things about the film are the breathtakingly detailed art deco design and the two Charleston dinner scenes.  These mirror each other, before and after suspicion and jealousy take hold of Hearst: the cast, Bogdanavich and his cameraman use excellent choreographing to move around the room in one continual shot, using cuts to show the POV of the opposing 'sides'. These scenes easily rival the more hyped Gosford Park (which was shot later, also with Claudie Blakley). 
       Eddie Izzard makes a highly watchable Chaplin: he is making more use of small movements to keep the viewer interested in his character but still does not have the emotional range to convincingly carry off scenes of deep passion or anger.
The film is glued together with many excellent supporting actors.
         Joanna Lumley does a more classy, brittle rendition of her usual parts, giving  a fantastically numb reaction to her reflection at the end. 
Back Antarctica
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Vibertography
       Jennifer Tilly changes from her hyper, socially clumsy Betty Boo-on-acid schtick at the beginning (showing Louella Parsons as the ultimate gushy, gauche fan) to a more controlled player by the end, having learnt how to play Hearst at his game. 
            As a sidenote, in the scene where she breaks down, screaming with shock at Ince's dead body, she could not stop her hysterical reaction off-camera, until they shot Vibert giving her character an injection.
         Ronan Vibert is the cynical, controlled and patient 'Big Joe'--Hearst's trusted right hand man--and is particularly effective in  showing the character to be subtly and protectively guiding Hearst in the later stages.
Background:
  • Exteriors  filmed in an unusually harsh Greek winter (location also earthquake-prone).Interiors shot in Berlin.
  • Shot before Antarctica and The Pianist
  • Second film with Shadow of the Vampire's Eddie Izzard and Cary Elwes (click for a long list of recurring co-stars).
  • Canadian DVD has nice extras: well worth getting on background info to the shoot and filming the Charleston/Hearst sequences (although no extra Vibert footage).
The real weak point, both in the cast and the film as a whole, is Cary Elwes's 100% Low Fat Vanilla Warren Beatty 'lite' performance. Perhaps surprisingly, he just doesn't have the ability to make us interested in his character or anything happening around him: as the catalyst in the plot, this is largely why the film ultimately fails to grip.
Ronan content:

Vibert  is cynically dry, quietly in charge, patient, loyal and long-suffering as Big Joe.
      Even when he flirts (dryly and filthily) with Claudie Blakely's character, Joe Willcombe remains very reticent and controlled: Vibert never allows him to smile freely during the entire movie and the cynicism is reinforced by a heavy New England WASP accent (similar to Gimme Gimme Gimme but more upper class).
       Along with the Doctor, Willcombe is chiefly responsible for clearing up the mess in Hearst's life: in this case it's wheeling Ince's dying body away somewhere safely hidden; making arrangements for the final cover up; and keeping the guests in the dark as much as possible.
Typical Quotes:
Doc: "How's the Chief today?" 
BJ: "A little edgy"
Doc: "Marion?"
BJ: "Why else?"
Doc: "No, I mean how is Marion?"
BJ: "Oh. The usual...spunky"

BJ: "I saw you last in Lady of the Harem"
"Oh you did. And what did your mamma think about that?"
BJ: "Well your mamma was sitting on my lap"
"You're a dirty, dirty boy"

BJ: "God help us"
Doc: "God is who we work for"
BJ: "Then God is in trouble"
Instead of portraying Willcombe as a more obvious 'enforcer' type, he is shown to be quietly unobtrusive; a valued and depended-upon employee, privy to Hearst's private life and utterly, loyally discreet.
              When bearing news of a tabloid story on the supposed affair between Chaplin and Davies to 'The Chief' he is reluctant to read the piece, preferring to give Hearst privacy. When ordered to read it, Willcombe never flinches when Hearst yells at him but is shown briefly waiting through a window of the boat's bridge, watching over his boss for a few seconds.
                   Two other sequences reinforce this impression of Joe Willcombe. The first is where he listens to a telephone conversation, fiddling gently with the cable, as Hearst lies easily to Ince's widow, the camera moving to show Willcombe's calm reactions. The second shows him standing constantly by Hearst's side, holding his leather business folder (like the civil servant who knows everything, standing with his government minister at a press conference); his hand guiding Hearst away from the guestss awkward questions, wincing slightly at a potentially dangerous query from Ince's mistress..
Vibert makes it clear that Willcombe has little time for Dunst's Marion Davies.
       As Big Joe sees her standing near Ince's body, he gives her a hard look as if he blames her solely for the disruption in Hearst's life. 
         Leaving the engine room where Ince is being treated, he brushes past Hearst, briefly laying a comforting arm on him. However, approaching the doorway, he fixes Dunst's character with a withering look, forcing her to drop her gaze while he takes care to avoid touching her as he squeezes through the small doorway.
           Vibert's final scene shows how his character is isolated. As he arrives with Hearst to confront Chaplin and Davies he looks with undisguised contempt at both of them. Izzard reciprocates and insists that he leaves: Vibert looks up to Hearst as if asking if he approves of this, and getting no support from him, looks witheringly back at Izzard before leaving.
            Joe Willcombe seems to be stuck between two worlds. On one hand he is the almost sole confidant of Hearst, taking care of him, organising his life and being part of his private social scene. On the other hand, although Vibert's pauses and observations of Hearst's erratic behaviour make his concern obvious, it is made clear to his character on several occasions that he is not a full family member. 

n.Special thanks to Monique for sending the 'Anatomy of a Scene' preview