Maxwell Perkins, the preeminent editor at Scribner's Sons, who unearthed the legendary editors of Fitzgerald and Hemingway, wore a gentleman's hat and long grey trench coat like this all his life. Walking down the shabby streets of Manhattan, he took the last train home.
The train moved slowly, heading towards the fields, fields and mountains. Outside the empty gray window, with the drizzle falling, he was reading the manuscripts thrown by his colleague, and he seemed to hear a trickling sound. From the manuscripts of the unknown people, he recognized a stream
: Everything in this magical world around him—the flowers and fields, the sky and the forest, all the birdsong in the woods, all the sounds, sights, and smells—all penetrated deep into his heart and became the only voice in his heart, his mind. The only words in the house are harmonious and beautiful, sad and sweet"...
Back in the splendid house in the suburbs, behind every door there is a familiar figure, his wife is "rehearsing a stage play" with a few middle-aged women; From youth to immaturity, the five girls, either alienated or reckless, were his five daughters—
except Perkins himself, the other six members of the family were all women.
In this house that belonged to him, he never took off his hat.
After searching all the corners, he finally found a corner where he could live - the wardrobe.
Reading the manuscripts, he seemed to hear the stream chanting again:
"In death, the Ruby Jade merged with the dark elf that had been hanging over his head, accompanying every step of his lonely life's journey." ...
"Who among us really knows his brother? Who has explored his father's heart? Who is not locked up in prison all his life? Who is not forever a stranger, forever alone?"
he It was as if he saw the creek flickering in the dark, and like a wandering elf, he wanted to find it.
Thomas Wolfe, the son of a southern mason, a young literary man wandering in the metropolis of New York, persistent, wandering, with a child-like perceptive and longing heart, observant, obsessed with the use of surging language; but again he was a restless, wandering soul.
He needs catharsis, resonance and expression, but also acceptance, guidance and direction.
He knocked on the door.
Screenwriter John Logan, who has won six Tony Awards in American drama, handled the "father-son friendship" between Perkins and Wolff in the film in a subtle and subtle way, neither sensational nor deliberate.
Through a few details, the unique "father" temperament of Perkins is revealed:
Perkins' professional motto is:
"Nothing is more important than a book".
He is a professional publisher who has always adhered to the editorial creed, with a calm and restrained personality; at the same time, he is also a father of five daughters in his personal family life and longing to have a son.
And Wolf, more like an immature child, like a wanderer, he was willing to open his heart to Perkins, telling about the bitterness of being alone after parting with his father.
When Perkins introduced Wolff to the family for dinner and set up a bed for the young man who was used to the wandering life, Wolff said to him earnestly:
"Thank you very much for your hospitality, and I also Never had a friend!";
the childlike and passionate writer of genius also brought Max into his life.
In the bar, Max felt the jazz version of "Afton River Quietly Flowing", the gentleman who always wore a top hat, involuntarily beat his feet with a happy smile on his face; When he arrived at the humble apartment in New York, Max actually smashed the glass with a blow to help Thomas.
This consistently rational middle-aged man who always wore a top hat and a long trench coat showed a less rigid side in front of Thomas.
Day and night, in the selfless cooperation of eating and living together, one is passionate and emotional, the other is calm and rational, the other is wanton intoxication, and the other is sober and clear. However, based on the common love for words and the pursuit of the wonderful strong voice of life, the tacit understanding and subtle cooperation of two originally unfamiliar souls have once again created outstanding masterpieces in the great era of American literary history:
"Angels Look at Hometown", "Time" and the river".
When overlooking this "Empire City" together, a genius and a "genius who discovered genius" naturally developed a friendship that melted away their loneliness, similar to the friendship between father and son.
What this film presents is not only a legendary story between partners.
Thomas rose to fame with indifference to his lover; he shamelessly humiliated Fitzgerald in front of him, subjecting his insane wife to brutal stimulation.
Max begins to have a harrowing realization of Thomas' arrogance and selfishness. When he saw Thomas's wife trembling helplessly at the elevator entrance due to her inner pain, he also began to reflect on his marriage and make up for the unintentional harm he caused.
But he could only see Wolf, the genius he discovered, the turbulent creek rushing out of the river and flooding away willfully. He scolded Wolff:
"You are so cruel, you never really understood that there are other important things besides writing, you never understood the meaning of life!"
When Max's young daughter asked: "Why doesn't Mr. Wolff Coming to my house?"
He replied gently: "Some people always leave, and some people just want to experience..."
At the end of the film, still adhering to the old style of the opening:
Perkins closes At the door of the office, he took off his hat for the first time, and opened the letter Wolff had written in his lifetime. As he read, he had always been rational and restrained, and burst into tears in an instant.
Perkins' deep hopeful heart for Wolfe finally found peace:
the unruly stream found its direction in the last time.
"The train began to move at full speed, smoothly and swiftly across the fringes of the city, across the suburbs, across the dots and dim lights, and then across the town, on the dark, wild, mysterious and lonely land. He was about to return. To the home in the south, back to a life as strange as a dream, back to my dying father who was like a ghost, back to the reality of sadness, death, and beating... We live alone like strangers On the earth. In the lonely night, we cross the earth, in the mighty train, galloping forward all the way on the American earth."
- "Time and River"
from the Berlin Film Festival and screenings around the world Look, "Genius Catcher" doesn't score very high. However, I believe that readers who love literature and many works that stand out in the great era of American literature; similar to those at that time, lonely souls wandering in the face of huge decline and prosperity, looking back to their spiritual homeland like angels, should be able to learn from In this film, I found some resonance and emotion.
Genius is respectable, and genius editors who discover genius are equally respectable!
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