From his days as a James Dean wannabe to his work on Freaks and Geeks and his mainstream breakthrough as Spider-man's pal/eventual enemy Harry Osborn, he's defied any attempt at typecasting or labeling. Just this year alone, he made fun of his image (This is the End, the aforementioned CC Roast), elevated the caricature of a white rapper to delightfully dizzying heights (in Harmony Korine's brilliant Spring Breakers) played Hugh Hefner in a biopic about Linda Lovelace and made a weird docu-drama about the rumored missing footage from William Friedkin's controversial film Cruising (Interior. Leather Bar). Oh, and there was a little trip to Oz that he took with the Evil Dead's Sam Raimi.

For his latest excursion into obtuse professional choices, Franco has decided to adapt William Faulkner's "unfilmable" novel As I Lay Dying. A decidedly low budget affair, the Oscar-nominated star sheds much of his goofball glamour to play Darl Bundren, one of the Bundren clan sworn to uphold the last wishes of their sick mother, Addie (Beth Grant). Co-writing with Matthew Rager as well as sitting behind the lens, Franco tells the story of a family uprooted from their rural country life and carrying their mother's coffin all the way to Missouri. Deconstructing the complicated plot from the book (which is also told by several contradictory narrative voices), we watch as husband Anse (Tim Blake Nelson) gathers up the brood - sons Cash (Jim Parrack), Darl, Jewel (Logan Marshall-Green) and Vardaman (Brady Permenter) and daughter Dewey Dell (Ahna O'Reilly) - and sets off on a perilous journey where they come across tragedies both natural and personal.

By taking the tale down to its bare bones, by relinquishing much of what made Faulkner's work so magical on paper, Franco cracks the code and delivers up a small, subtle winner. It's the antithesis of what you'd expect from such a flamboyant figure, but this is one actor whose always been a humanist at heart. He's much more interested in people than the particulars of pace or purpose, and this renders As I Lay Dying a delicate character study where the modern motifs each actor embodies are used to emphasize, not extinguish, the period piece mood and temperament. Faulkner, a determined alcoholic, did the same thing in his novels. He used experimental, contemporary techniques to cut his stories down to episodes of interpersonal enlightenment. Franco follows suit, creating an ensemble piece where the epiphanies are more important than the events.

His cast is quite capable of delivering on his designs. As Addie, Beth Grant makes the most of her limited screen time, while Danny McBride does the same with what amounts to an extended cameo. Of the sons, Franco and Jim Parrack have the best overall character arc, even if it requires a bit of nauseating bloodletting to get through them. Perhaps the real standout is Tim Blake Nelson as Anse. Lost in his bumpkin persona and fiery in this clueless determination, it is within this performance that we see the real reason behind Addie's request. In some ways, she wants her remaining family go on a Pilgrim's Progress, a series of struggles (in this case, via a burial journey) so that they can better understand themselves and each other. In addition, they can also suffer as she did. Of course, in Faulkner's (and Franco's) hands, such self discovery can be damaging.

THE DVD:
If you want to get an idea of what it's like working on a James Franco film, the Behind the Scenes featurette offers some decided backstage gossip. Apparently, Faulkner's book was the Gospel to everyone on set and a constant reference source. The cast and crew interviews also add a nice bit of production enlightenment. As for the tech specs specifically, the movie is offered in a solid 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The image is colorful, clean, and loaded with local atmosphere. The sound situation is equally evocative. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix adds mood to the proceedings, the dialogue front and center while the various outdoors elements chirp away in the channels.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
You have to hand it to James Franco. With his looks and his likeability, he could be making more commercial movies. He could also be trading on his persona to perfect a kind of abusive arrogance. Instead, he comes across as that oddball living across the hall that randomly asks you in for a bong hit, or a discussion on Balzac. While some might find it mannered or mundane, his adaptation of Faulkner's As I Lay Dying is actually quite good. Earning a Recommended rating, it is mainly for those who view the mainstream as ambivalent to film's artistic potential. Sure, he sometimes spreads himself way too thin, but overall, James Franco is carving out an unique movie star mythos for himself - and this film should definitely be included in it.

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