Mr. Jones
(1993)Directed by Mike Figgis
Written by Eric Roth and Michael Cristofer
Rated R/114 minutesAnalyizing the artistic soul by Tom Keogh
"Mr. Jones" has the good grace not to romanticize or underplay its sympathetic, central character's mental illness, as the recent "Benny and Joon" did. Nor does the film develop an atmosphere of clinical detachment or pity for Richard Gere's manic-depressive charmer. Each of those points-of-view would rob Gere's character of his rich humanity and gifts, which are tragically undercut by a devastating chemical imbalance robbing him of companionship and liberty.
The man known primarily as "Mr. Jones" comes to the attention of Southern California psychiatrists after euphoric episodes find him crashing the stage at a symphony and talking about flying while standing on the edge of a high rise. Assigned to Dr. Libbie Bowen (Lena Olin) at a residential psychiatric clinic, Mr. Jones reveals very little about his past. But he does reveal a great deal about his quick mind, passion, and intense intuition about others' pain. Frustrated with a life spent in and out of hospitals, Mr. Jones fights for his freedom, then eventually gets in trouble every time he's released to the streets. Still, he is clearly a remarkable man thwarted by a cruel trick of fate. It's no wonder Beethoven, the musical genius who composed under the burden of deafness, is an inspiration to Mr. Jones.
Libbie not only recognizes that ironic cruely in her patient, she finds herself falling in love with him. She sees not the illness, but the man compromised by the illness, and the film handles her difficult situation with relative realism. Libbie doesn't throw everything over to be with Mr. Jones, but she obviously feels the constraints of their doctor-patient relationship and the pain of knowing he has few options open to him in life. The solid story is flattered by brave, virtuoso performances from Gere (who appears to do his own stunt work in some truly dangerous scenes) and Olin. The actress brings, as always, her deep, dark waters to the film, giving Libbie an air of inexplicable mystery counterpointing Mr. Jones' own enigmas.
Directed by Mike Figgis ("Internal Affairs") and written by Eric Roth ("Suspect") and Michael Cristofer (the Tony-award winning play, "The Shadow Box"), "Mr. Jones" poignantly underscores the moral dilemma of painting all disturbed people with the same brush. There's no sign of an anti-psychiatry axe grinding in this movie. But the film ultimately points up the way special people sometimes fall through the cracks of our attitudes about mental health.
