Director of photography Haskell Wexler has long been renowned for the realistic look he has brought to numerous great films, from “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “In the Heat of the Night” to “American Graffiti” and “Bound for Glory.”
It’s appropriate, then, that the documentary “Tell Them Who You Are,” made by his son, Mark Wexler, should be one of the most clear-eyed and intimate Hollywood portraits ever filmed. Because it was made by a photojournalist about a cinematographer, it had to look great. And it does.
A larger-than-life character known for his prickly personality, left-wing politics and opinion of himself as a better filmmaker than the giants he’s worked for, the elder Wexler has never been an easy man to love. Having grown up under such a long, often inky shadow, Mark naturally has issues, and they come to the fore soon after he starts filming his 80-year-old father.
Haskell constantly challenges Mark’s camera choices and interview questions. He even threatens not to sign the release form that will make the finished film possible. He likes to turn the tables by filming Mark filming him, too.
Hilarious and harrowing, this filial combat ultimately results in the richest movie examination of a difficult father-son relationship we’re likely ever to see.
The career stuff takes a backseat to the fascinating family business. We’re still talking Rolls-Royce-quality material here. Mark enjoys outstanding access to his father’s collaborators, some of whom respected his genius while hating having to work with him.
One of those is Michael Douglas, himself the son of an accomplished and intimidating father, who had to relieve the overreaching Haskell of camera duties on his production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” On the other hand, the suddenly ubiquitous Jane Fonda, who adores Haskell and worked with him on several anti-war projects back in the day, warmly shares her most cherished advice on coping with a tough dad.
George Lucas, Sidney Poitier, Julia Roberts, the late Elia Kazan and many more luminaries chime in.
But the best stuff is just Haskell being his feisty, cantankerous self – and when his soft side emerges during an unexpectedly emotional visit to his ex-wife, Mark’s mother Marian, the film’s already high humanity quotient reaches stratospheric heights.
**** | “Tell Them Who You Are”
R for language and some sexual images|1 hour, 35 minutes|DOCUMENTARY| Directed by Mark Wexler|Opened Friday at the Regency Theaters at Tamarac.
