Spielberg and Lucas have managed to pull another Indiana Jones script from their respective colons and, aside from the oppressive mediocrity of the film as a whole, they've taken Marian (Karen Allen) behind the shed and done away with her.
The Indiana Jones series, much like its main character, has a dubious track record with women. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) started out strong, with the independent Marian. Although when she's around Indy her primary function is that of damsel in distress, she is a well-defined character, self-sufficient and even capable of standing up to the Nazis who come around. By the time the "Temple of Doom" came out (1984), feminist backlash had caught up with the series, planting the insipid Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) as its poster girl. Willie is not able to fight or think her way out of a paper bag, let alone the mess that is the script. Much to everyone's relief, the only woman seen in "The Last Crusade" is a Nazi. (Albeit, a pretty masculine woman-- she uses her sexuality to get what she wants, and even crawls around the rat-filled Venice sewers. Perhaps that's what makes her so dangerous.)
I had my doubts about this movie from the beginning. I'm not usually in favor of sequels, although I have certainly been proven wrong by "Batman Begins" and the X-Men trilogy, so I deliberately kept my expectations low. However, seeing Karen Allen in the trailer did get me a bit excited. I thought that, whatever the rest of the movie was like, at least they brought her character back. (I naively thought that would offset Shia LeBoeuf.)
**SPOILER AHEAD, even though you can see the plot twist from the moon.
Unfortunately, her sole purpose is to tell Indy that Mutt (Shia LeBoeuf) is their son. In order to do this, she needs to be kidnapped by Russians and dragged through the Amazon. She displays none of the spunk she had in "Raiders," most of her dialogue with Indy being wifely bickering, with some bitterness from being left at the altar. (Oh yes, Spielberg and Lucas went there!) She explains that she had "a damn good life" without him, although she is obviously lying. Aside from driving a truck at breakneck speed through the jungle, she doesn't get a chance to do anything other than follow the men. She does get a few chances to helplessly shout "In-dyyyy" though, thank god. She ultimately "wins" by marrying him, for lack of a better ending, and thus justifying her existence.
The other woman in the film is the antagonist, the Russian scientist/paranormal-ist played by Cate Blanchett. She's the ballbuster, commanding scores of men, complete with a rapier at her waist. (Phallic symbol, anyone?) Unlike the previous bad girl (the Nazi), she has zero sex appeal, completely devoted to her job. It could be said that she's the stereotypical unhappy "liberated" female whose quest for knowledge only brings destruction, as a foil to Marian's domestically fulfilled character-- but that feels too easy. She pretty much just torments Indy in an effort to force him to help her, although she does issue a quite empty threat to kill Marian, once she realizes her worth as a bargaining chip. She does have a brief moment face-to-face with Marian during the endless jungle chase, and the overtones of CATFIGHT!!! are palpable, but do not lead anywhere. Perhaps because the older, dependent Marian would inevitably get her ass handed to her.
Interestingly, Indy himself seems to have a bit of an identity crisis during the movie. He's still the tough guy, telling Mutt that he doesn't need to finish school-- to hell with his mom-- and crawling around spider-infested tombs. Once he finds out that Mutt is his son, he immediately reverts to "angry dad" and chastises Mutt for not finishing school. Mutt points out this reversal, but he is never answered, and Indy spends the rest of the movie gloating over his son's survival ability (ie: fencing the Russian chick while in the midst of a car chase through the jungle). He's spent the last 20+ years avoiding traditional male life-- getting married and bringing home the bacon-- but he instantly lets his son into his (rugged) heart.
Luckily, Indy's getting too old for this crap. Maybe the next movie will feature him in a cameo: sitting on a recliner, watching TV as Marian cooks his oatmeal.
3 comments:
Karen Allen is your mom too, so maybe you should watch out. And YOU'RE grading Cate Blanchett's sex appeal?! Some men like to have their balls busted, don't forget.
you mean even the luminous cate blanchett can't rescue this movie from a morass of ridiculous and predictable plotting? i say this without the benefit, or disadvantage, of actually seeing this film. since i was able to recognize them, female characterizations in the indiana jones canon have been problematic for me... and i wanted to like the movies, i really did... you know, my friends all do. go ahead, call me a humorless feminist.
I say thank God that Marion finally married Indy. Now we can rest easy knowing that she has fulfilled her role as a true woman and she can finally stop crying in public places like the Mall.
To be honest, she's the only Indy girl that I can remember.
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