Foxes (1980)
MGM DVD (region 1)
d. Adrian Lyne; pr. Gerald Ayres, David Puttnam; scr. Gerald Ayres; ph. Leon Bijou, Michael Seresin; m. Georgio Moroder; ed. James Coblentz; cast. Jodie Foster, Cherie Curie, Marilyn Kagan, Candice Stroh, Scott Baio, Sally Kellerman, Randy Quaid (106 mins)
Throughout the 1980s there was an influx of British filmmakers into Hollywood.
Most of these directors came from the world of advertising and it was the glossiness of this form that would infiltrate their films and in turn influence Hollywood’s conception of sophistication. Their films were indeed popular enough with audiences and critics alike to give them long careers in American film, where today they are some of the most bankable talents. This so-called British Invasion consisted mainly of Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Alan Parker, Hugh Hudson and Adrian Lyne. Of these, it is Lyne who has established a reputation for modern morality plays (bordering on sensationalism) exploring questions of sexual obsession and infidelity in such films as Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal and the more recent Unfaithful. Yet his concern for issues of sexual conduct (and related misconduct) eventually led to the controversy surrounding his superb remake of Lolita, which would sadly be denied a wide US release. As provocative as that film was, it did not emerge out of nothing, for the troublesome theme of underage eroticism had indeed been embryonic in Lyne’s first film, Foxes, one of a number of “realistic” looks at teenage sexuality and wastefulness that both anticipated the likes of Larry Clark and avoided the safe rite-of-passage nostalgia of John Hughes. Indeed, Foxes remains one of the grittier portraits of teen despair.
Foxes tells the story of four teenage girls (Jodie Foster, Cherie Currie, Marilyn Kagan and Kandice Stroh) who spend much of their time together practically without any adult influence. Foster lives with her distraught single mother (Sally Kellerman) whilst Currie spends much of her time evading her abusive, brutal policeman father.
Their existence is a sad, potentially despairing one of underage drug use, partying and increasingly, promiscuity. The rather rambling plot follows their troubled interaction and developing relationships, concentrating primarily on the bond between Foster and the increasingly uncontrollable Currie – the most desperate of the lot – and on Kagan’s relationship with a much older man (Randy Quaid) whose interest in her is both paternalistic and ambiguous. A link between them is a teenage boy (Scott Baio) and it is he who soon also starts to bond with Foster when trouble happens. When Quaid gives the teenagers the run of his house their actions get out of control, leading to an arrest. Currie’s authoritative but ineffectual father is furious and eventually has her put into a hospital. However, though drugged into virtual incoherence, she soon escapes and her friends try to find her before the worst could happen and lest their togetherness descend into wasteful tragedy. Meanwhile, Kagan longs for the stability of an older man and soon all must face decisions that split their unity.
Although Foxes has, at times, some of the despair of the controversial hit German film Christiane F then in art house release (and indeed still the model for the teen despair movie) it looks extremely glossy and calculated in comparison – aesthetically towards prettification: evidence of Lyne straining for, and indeed mostly achieving, his intended style.
In the film’s rather delicate emphasis on adolescent sexuality, it is also about the dawning of erotic yearning and thus about the point of transition between Innocence and Experience, a predicament Lyne would return to in his version of Lolita.
Hence, it is both ironic and unusual that one of the characters gets married so young – although her husband is a sympathetic character, his desire for the young girl is left rather ambiguous, as if the future treatment of pedophilia were germinating in the director’s mind. Indeed, from the first scene the girls are subtly eroticized, the film finding great attraction in their dawning sexuality, only to then show how abused and malformed it has become in contemporary American society – which seems on the verge of despairing, hedonistic anarchy. Lyne thus documents a kind of cultural and social bewilderment inherent in the maturation process – adulthood offers no answers or solace. These young women desire to be alluring and sophisticated but are left in doubt and chaos as to what this means: indeed, many of the adults on the periphery are a cross-section of (actual and potential) sexual predators. No-one seems to see beyond the immediate and there is little hope for a way out of what actually amounts to not transition but the unenviable decomposition of Innocence. Maturity brings only despair, abandon and a disillusionment that will destroy itself if it cannot be overcome.
DVD DETAILS:
Vision
The 16:9 enhanced transfer is a stand-out in original aspect ratio, preserving the subtle eroticism that runs throughout a stylish, glossy and moody film. It is rich and sophisticated in texture, although also cold and formal for much of it, except for the virtual explosion of hot color in costume and lighting in the more energized scenes. Lyne initially stresses tight close-ups as a means of putting the viewer amidst the intimacy shared between the characters and then slowly becomes more distanced and critical in perspective, although without losing a verite quality – making for a complex but mostly assured tonal balance. Although artfully composed and lit, it also has a convincing authenticity, before Lyne was fully seduced by the promise of his future polished, artful elegance – thus it still has a relative rawness unusual for the director. Night seems a genuinely unnerving and dangerous time in this film. Lyne’s use of camera movement and the often restless action of the characters neatly suggests the idea of pointless motion, capturing both the sense of overall futility and the idea of a stop-start world constantly in danger of losing control and getting out of hand – hence the importance of the party at Quaid’s house as a demonstration of youth ill-prepared for responsibility and even anarchically incapable of self-control. The transfer preserves the full intent of this stylish and provocative, though somewhat rambling, film.
Sound
Unfortunately, the sound transfer is in Dolby Digital mono only. Despite this home-theatre shortcoming, the transfer itself is always clear and crisp, well centered. The early use of overlapping voices adds an authenticity to the sound mix which is nicely maintained, giving much of the film a naturalistic, almost documentary feel. The song selection of late 1970s popular works is effective although the transfer lacks the pronounced fullness needed to make them more than background. The sense of immersion in the all-important sense of environment, culture and socialization is also only partly achievable in mono. Nevertheless, the effects still add to the sense of American youth culture in a kind of stasis, longing for transition. Authentic urban noises often battle with voices, struggling for prominence in an unglamorous Los Angeles: radio broadcasts and street activity nicely convey the impression of the cacophonous despair of a free society. It is as though Lyne, and the characters, are searching, even yearning, for some kind of moral / social tranquility but cannot find it here. The rock concert scene also would have benefited from a better transfer as it seems a dominant ritual in this subculture and features a sadly rather banal song meant to explain the film’s title. The frank sex talk, of how young girls react to virginity and the promise of adult sophistication, is still effective and confronting.
Special Features
The only special feature is an original trailer. In the commentary tracks for other Lyne films, he has spoken of his stylistic choices and it would have been interesting to hear how he regards his feature film debut, especially in light of his subsequent version of Lolita.
