Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey
3/4
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, John Omirah Miluwi, Brian Brown, Constantin Alexandrov, Waigwa Wachira, Iain Cuthbertson
Rated PG-13 (probably for Intense Violent Images, Language and Some Sexuality)
It could be argued that no one has done more for the mountain gorillas than Dian Fossey. The mountain gorillas were doomed to extinction, but her hard work saved them from vanishing forever. However, her anti-poaching crusade became more extreme and undoubtedly led to her murder in 1985.
I actually took a course on the great apes my sophomore year of college, and one of the people I studied was Dian Fossey. She was one of the so-called Trimates, a group of primate researchers sent by famed paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey to study the great apes (the other two being Birute Galdikas, who studies orangutans, and of course Jane Goodall who studies common chimpanzees). That was eleven years ago, so my memory of the class is foggy. The only parts of that class that I remember are oversleeping and missing an exam (a frantic call to my older brother allayed my fears, as someone he knew had overslept and missed their final exam) and arriving to class on the day of my big presentation only to have forgotten my jump drive, which necessitated a sprint back to my dorm to fetch it before the end of the class (thank God my roommate was there to run it down to me...and yes, I made it back in time to give my presentation).
Anyway, the story starts when Dian Fossey (Weaver) tracks down Louis Leakey (Cuthbertson) at a speech he gives in 1966. She all but demands to be given the opportunity to take a census of the mountain gorillas in the Congo. A civil war drives her out and she almost gives up until she realizes that she can study them from the peaceful Rwanda. Her research and devotion to "her" gorillas led her to become an anti-poaching activist. That made her a lot of enemies, such as Mukara (Wachira), a local government official who believes that people are more important than gorillas, a nasty zoo collector named Van Veeten (Alexandrov), and the local Bantu people, who rely on poaching for their livelihood. Along her nearly 30 year journey, she falls in love with a National Geographic photographer and becomes closely attached to her gorillas, especially a handsome silverback she dubs Digit, due to two fused fingers. But her efforts to protect the gorillas from poachers bordered on the terroristic, and her work was cut short by her murder on December 27, 1985.
Let me start by saying that "Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey" is a good movie. That is without dispute. The acting is strong, the film looks and sounds great, and so on. The film does what it sets out to do. But in a way, this film feels like a missed opportunity. For one thing, Dian never feels like a fully fleshed out character. The script doesn't give Weaver the latitude to turn her into a three-dimensional woman. We see many sides of her, such as her almost obsessive devotion to the apes and her fanatical fight against the poachers. But her character seems only partially formed. Another element that the film fails to capitalize on is her unique, and controversial, approach to studying the gorillas. Typically when a scientist studies an animal, they act as observers, noting behavior and analyzing it afterwards. Dian was a different story. She elected to get close and personal with the apes, and allowed them to accept her as one of their own (even going so far as to mimic their behavior). To be sure, the film does show this. But it portrays her as simply being a very lucky person rather than an atypical researcher.
Whatever problems the film may have, let no one claim that they have anything to do with Sigourney Weaver's performance as the title character. Weaver is in top form as the passionate and fiery Dian. We see and feel her love, her devotion, and her fury. She has a tendency to go over-the-top when she's required to express heavy emotions, but not here. The scene when she breaks down at the death of a gorilla is genuinely heartbreaking. Also very good is John Omirah Miluwi as her long-time tracker and assistant Sembagare. His quiet strength meshes well with Weaver's energetic portrayal, and although Miluwi isn't an actor (he hasn't acted in any film before or since), he's a natural talent. Bryan Brown adds his Aussie charm as Dian's photographer turned lover Bob Campbell, but their relationship is underdeveloped. The two only have two extended scenes together. As the villains, Constantin Alexandrov and Waigwa Wachira are perfectly nasty, all the more so because they have reasonable motives.
The film looks and sounds incredible. The African jungle comes alive in the luscious camerawork by John Seale (who, shockingly, wasn't even nominated for an Oscar). I felt the beauty and the humidity of the land. Also excellent is the score by legendary composer Maurice Jarre. It's lovely, and perfectly compliments the story and the setting. Together they create a deeply atmospheric and absorbing setting.
As for the gorillas, well, I was astonished to find out that they weren't all real. They were a combination of actors in suits, chimpanzees in makeup, and actual gorillas. Credit must go to makeup master Rick Baker, because there was never a moment where I wasn't convinced. Well, maybe I was with some of the babies, but that was mostly because I couldn't believe it was humanly possible to do it.
Be warned, this film is not always easy to watch. There is a poaching scene early in the film that is genuinely disturbing, and some shocking images of butchered gorillas. It's not that I think it should be rated R, but I think that people who watch this movie should be prepared for it.
Perhaps the flaws of this film are that it tries to do too much. After all, covering 30 years of history in a little over two hours is next to impossible. But it does create a solid biography of an extraordinary, if eccentric, woman, and it makes us appreciate what her hard work has left us with. If nothing else, it's worth seeing for Sigourney Weaver. Her performance, which is one of her best, deserves to be seen.
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, John Omirah Miluwi, Brian Brown, Constantin Alexandrov, Waigwa Wachira, Iain Cuthbertson
Rated PG-13 (probably for Intense Violent Images, Language and Some Sexuality)
It could be argued that no one has done more for the mountain gorillas than Dian Fossey. The mountain gorillas were doomed to extinction, but her hard work saved them from vanishing forever. However, her anti-poaching crusade became more extreme and undoubtedly led to her murder in 1985.
I actually took a course on the great apes my sophomore year of college, and one of the people I studied was Dian Fossey. She was one of the so-called Trimates, a group of primate researchers sent by famed paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey to study the great apes (the other two being Birute Galdikas, who studies orangutans, and of course Jane Goodall who studies common chimpanzees). That was eleven years ago, so my memory of the class is foggy. The only parts of that class that I remember are oversleeping and missing an exam (a frantic call to my older brother allayed my fears, as someone he knew had overslept and missed their final exam) and arriving to class on the day of my big presentation only to have forgotten my jump drive, which necessitated a sprint back to my dorm to fetch it before the end of the class (thank God my roommate was there to run it down to me...and yes, I made it back in time to give my presentation).
Anyway, the story starts when Dian Fossey (Weaver) tracks down Louis Leakey (Cuthbertson) at a speech he gives in 1966. She all but demands to be given the opportunity to take a census of the mountain gorillas in the Congo. A civil war drives her out and she almost gives up until she realizes that she can study them from the peaceful Rwanda. Her research and devotion to "her" gorillas led her to become an anti-poaching activist. That made her a lot of enemies, such as Mukara (Wachira), a local government official who believes that people are more important than gorillas, a nasty zoo collector named Van Veeten (Alexandrov), and the local Bantu people, who rely on poaching for their livelihood. Along her nearly 30 year journey, she falls in love with a National Geographic photographer and becomes closely attached to her gorillas, especially a handsome silverback she dubs Digit, due to two fused fingers. But her efforts to protect the gorillas from poachers bordered on the terroristic, and her work was cut short by her murder on December 27, 1985.
Let me start by saying that "Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey" is a good movie. That is without dispute. The acting is strong, the film looks and sounds great, and so on. The film does what it sets out to do. But in a way, this film feels like a missed opportunity. For one thing, Dian never feels like a fully fleshed out character. The script doesn't give Weaver the latitude to turn her into a three-dimensional woman. We see many sides of her, such as her almost obsessive devotion to the apes and her fanatical fight against the poachers. But her character seems only partially formed. Another element that the film fails to capitalize on is her unique, and controversial, approach to studying the gorillas. Typically when a scientist studies an animal, they act as observers, noting behavior and analyzing it afterwards. Dian was a different story. She elected to get close and personal with the apes, and allowed them to accept her as one of their own (even going so far as to mimic their behavior). To be sure, the film does show this. But it portrays her as simply being a very lucky person rather than an atypical researcher.
Whatever problems the film may have, let no one claim that they have anything to do with Sigourney Weaver's performance as the title character. Weaver is in top form as the passionate and fiery Dian. We see and feel her love, her devotion, and her fury. She has a tendency to go over-the-top when she's required to express heavy emotions, but not here. The scene when she breaks down at the death of a gorilla is genuinely heartbreaking. Also very good is John Omirah Miluwi as her long-time tracker and assistant Sembagare. His quiet strength meshes well with Weaver's energetic portrayal, and although Miluwi isn't an actor (he hasn't acted in any film before or since), he's a natural talent. Bryan Brown adds his Aussie charm as Dian's photographer turned lover Bob Campbell, but their relationship is underdeveloped. The two only have two extended scenes together. As the villains, Constantin Alexandrov and Waigwa Wachira are perfectly nasty, all the more so because they have reasonable motives.
The film looks and sounds incredible. The African jungle comes alive in the luscious camerawork by John Seale (who, shockingly, wasn't even nominated for an Oscar). I felt the beauty and the humidity of the land. Also excellent is the score by legendary composer Maurice Jarre. It's lovely, and perfectly compliments the story and the setting. Together they create a deeply atmospheric and absorbing setting.
As for the gorillas, well, I was astonished to find out that they weren't all real. They were a combination of actors in suits, chimpanzees in makeup, and actual gorillas. Credit must go to makeup master Rick Baker, because there was never a moment where I wasn't convinced. Well, maybe I was with some of the babies, but that was mostly because I couldn't believe it was humanly possible to do it.
Be warned, this film is not always easy to watch. There is a poaching scene early in the film that is genuinely disturbing, and some shocking images of butchered gorillas. It's not that I think it should be rated R, but I think that people who watch this movie should be prepared for it.
Perhaps the flaws of this film are that it tries to do too much. After all, covering 30 years of history in a little over two hours is next to impossible. But it does create a solid biography of an extraordinary, if eccentric, woman, and it makes us appreciate what her hard work has left us with. If nothing else, it's worth seeing for Sigourney Weaver. Her performance, which is one of her best, deserves to be seen.
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