Being There
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- This article is for the 1971 book and 1979 movie. For the 1996 album by the band Wilco, see Being There (album).
Being There is a political, satirical 1971 novel by Jerzy Kosiński and a 1979 film directed by Hal Ashby. The film stars Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard A. Dysart and Richard Basehart. The screenplay was adapted by Jerzy Kosiński and Robert C. Jones (uncredited). It won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Melvyn Douglas) and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Peter Sellers).
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Synopsis
Being There depicts the story of a gardener named Chance (Peter Sellers) who grew up living as an employee on the estate of a wealthy man in Washington, D.C. with virtually no contact with the outside world and no social interaction. Apart from his limited relationship with Louise, the maid, Chance's cultural and social education is derived entirely from what he watches on the televisions provided by his employer.
When his employer dies, Chance is forced to leave his sheltered existence in the house and discover the world outside for himself. His simplistic, intentioned speaking style is interpreted by those he encounters as a sign of great wisdom, and after a car accident which leads him into the company of a powerful rich businessman (Melvyn Douglas), Chance quickly rises to national public prominence.
Understand that Chance is implied as being mentally limited, as well as limited by an extremely sheltered upbringing. His mental facilities and his ability to experience life are a product of decades of taking care of a garden, and of watching television.
The people he meets almost all see qualities in him that are not there, but instead reflect qualities and needs of their own. Director Hal Ashby uses this to satirize our media driven society in a very merciless yet cunningly subtle way.
Most memorable scenes include Chance being confronted early in the movie by a street gang, and pulling out his TV remote control to change the channel then being suprised when he could not; repeating several times to important people the famous "All is well...and all will be well...in the garden," and having that interpreted as an uplifting economic and political comment; Shirley MacLaine writhing in long-suppressed sexual pleasure on a bear rug while Chance obliviously channel-surfs; and in the final scene, walking across the surface of a lake because his attention is not caught by the funeral that's going on, as the most important movers and shakers in the USA discuss running him for President.
That final scene continues to generate discussion and controversy. Was there a hidden, slightly submerged pier of some sort? Or did Chance truly have some special grace, given his simple innocence and simply being present to each moment without filters and ideas? Roger Ebert very effectively argues for the latter in his review on his web site.
Ebert BTW regards Being There as one of the greatest movies ever made.
Famous quotes
- I like to watch.
- Life is a state of mind.
- All is well...and all will be well...in the garden.
See also
External links
- Template:Imdb title
- All Movie Guide entry (http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:4708)
- Review by Roger Ebert (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19970525/REVIEWS08/401010303/1023), who puts Being There on his Greatest Movies list