The movie
Women had few choices in the
male-dominated world of the 19th century U.S., both in the
"civilized" East and the rough West: the respectable option was to be
a wife and mother, and the disreputable option was to be a whore. At the
beginning of The Ballad of Little Jo, we find Josephine Monaghan (Suzy
Amis) trapped between these two extremes. Fiercely independent and resourceful,
Josephine finds a possible way out of her agonizing lack of choices: to become,
in the eyes of the world, a young man named "Jo" instead of a young
woman named Josephine.
The Ballad of Little Jo
is really only a Western in the sense that it's set in the Old West, when
mining camps were full of eager prospectors and the hills were filling with
homesteaders looking for a new life. Director Maggie Greenwald neatly sidesteps
all the of the tired conventions of the "Western" and lets The
Ballad of Little Jo focus on its own tightly character-centered story. The
Western setting is not coincidental, though: the time, place, and culture of
the setting is fundamental to the story.
Suzy Amis does a truly
admirable job as Little Jo, bringing the character to life in three richly
realized dimensions. It's a tough role, since Jo is not given to talking much,
but Amis manages to express the character as much in silence as in dialogue.
Amis strikes a perfect balance in her performance as a man: on the one hand,
she's entirely believable in her male disguise, and on the other hand, we as
the audience can see the signs of strain at times, as she feels the pressure of
maintaining her cover. To its credit, the film never plays up this aspect of
the film for laughs (this is a deadly serious story), and it never trivializes
it. We fully understand Jo's motive in taking up her disguise, and it's handled
in a highly realistic manner.
Incidentally, there's no need
for suspension of disbelief when it comes to accepting that Jo could pass as a
man: in addition to her changed appearance (which is remarkably convincing even
to a modern viewer), one thing that would have played in her favor was
ironically the same thing that made it necessary for her to disguise herself as
a man. In a culture that had strict male/female dress codes as well as very
clear expectations of men's and women's work, people would have been much more
likely to accept at face value the "male signals" of clothing and
behavior.
The Ballad of Little Jo
has to get full credit for an original and unpredictable storyline; it develops
naturally and always has some dramatic tension pulling the viewer in to find
out what happens next, but at the same time, it neatly avoids any clichéd plot
twists. I kept expecting the plot to develop in a certain way (the question in
my mind being not so much "will it happen" but "how will it
happen"), and in the end I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story
had taken an entirely different direction than what I was expecting.
That's not to say that the plot
is perfect, of course. A few elements of the story seemed a little rushed, like
Jo's relationship with the Chinese railroad worker "Tin Man" (David
Chung), or even the appearance of the Western Cattle Company in the last third
or so of the film. It's rare that I find a film to be overly short (the more
usual sin is a bloated running time), but The Ballad of Little Jo is one
that might have benefited from a slightly longer cut than its current 121
minutes.
Since this isn't the
conventional Western story of gunfighters, sheriffs, and Indian raids, The
Ballad of Little Jo offers an interesting perspective on the "wild
West" of the time. It's certainly a rough and often brutal place, and the
film pulls no punches in that respect, but we see in the film that it's also a
place with its own kind of magic, where people could really re-invent themselves
and find a new life. The Ballad of Little Jo does a nice job of showing
the evolution of Jo herself as she looks for a measure of peace and security in
this "no man's land" at the fringes of the civilized world; it's a
character-based film that works well due to the excellent and very believable
performance from Amis coupled with an interesting and well-developed setting
and a solid story structure that keeps the story moving all the time.
The DVD
Video
The Ballad of Little Jo
is presented in a very nice widescreen anamorphic transfer, at the film's
original aspect ratio of 1.85:1; apart from some moderate edge enhancement,
it's a clean and attractive image. Colors in particular look very good, with a
natural, bright look to both the dramatic landscapes and the indoor scenes.
Audio
Viewers have the option of a
DTS 5.1, a Dolby 5.1, or a Dolby 2.0 soundtrack. The DTS is certainly the best,
with the fullest and richest sound; the 5.1 offers less depth and a bit less of
a surround experience, but it's still very good; the 2.0 is fairly flat and
should only be chosen as a last resort. The music portions of the track are
always handled very well, sounding clear and crisp; surround effects are also
used to very good effect at various points through the film. Dialogue, however,
tends to be a bit on the flat side and occasionally even becomes muffled, so
that I missed a line every now and then. Overall, though, the DTS (and to a
lesser extent the 5.1) track offers a nicely immersive and satisfactory
listening experience.
English subtitles are
available.
Extras
A trailer for the film is
included. The disc also contains DVD-ROM features, which is never something
that I consider to be particularly worthwhile.
Final thoughts
The Ballad of Little Jo
was a very pleasant surprise. This unpretentious, character-centered film
shines through the outstanding performance of Suzy Amis in the title role,
offering a solidly entertaining viewing experience. Since The Ballad of
Little Jo has been given a good transfer onto DVD, it's an excellent choice
for a purchase. Recommended.
Buy: