A Work in Progress: The Films of James Mangold June 4–29, 2006

Each spring the Department of Film and Media and The Junior Associates organize MoMA’s annual film benefit, A Work in Progress, to celebrate a young and distinctive directorial voice in current cinema. This year’s honoree is James Mangold, whose work demonstrates a clear artistic vision and a steadfast commitment to the art of filmmaking. A graduate of the California Institute of the Arts and Columbia University, where he studied under mentors Alexander Mackendrick and Milos Forman respectively, Mangold has directed six feature films to date. Often centered around conflicted outsiders, each of these films possesses a stringent focus on story and character. Mangold pushes his actors to some of their best performances—Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted, 1999) and Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line, 2005) earned their first Academy Awards under Mangold’s direction—and gives every character a singular opportunity to create his or her own “aria” in the film, even with large ensemble casts, as in Cop Land (1997) and Identity (2003). To celebrate the acquisition of Mangold’s films for the Museum’s collection, the Department of Film and Media presents a complete retrospective of his work. Additionally, two of Mangold’s student films are presented on June 17 and 18 as part of MoMA’s tribute to CalArts. All films written and directed by James Mangold, except where noted.

Organized by Maggie Lyko, Director, Affiliate Programs; and Jenny He, Research Assistant, Department of Film and Media. Special thanks to Michael Paseornek, Lionsgate; Schawn Belston, Ted Gagliano, Twentieth Century Fox; Daniel Battsek, Janet Kim, Miramax Films; and Grover Crisp, Sony Pictures Entertainment, for the generous donation of prints to the Museum’s collection.

Heavy. 1995. USA. With Pruitt Taylor Vince, Shelley Winters, Liv Tyler. Mangold’s first feature film won the Sundance Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize for best direction and firmly established Mangold’s reputation as an up-and-coming filmmaker. The film’s title describes the lonely and shy Victor, who goes about his life in a quiet stupor. When a desirable waitress is hired at the roadside restaurant where he works, he slowly awakens. 105 min.
Sunday, June 4, 2:00; Thursday, June 22, 8:00. T1

Walk the Line. 2005. USA. Cowritten by Gill Dennis. With Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon. A biopic chronicling the rise, fall, and eventual redemption of country legend Johnny Cash. At Mangold’s insistence, Phoenix and Witherspoon underwent intense vocal training and learned to play instruments in order to portray Cash and June Carter, resulting in authentic, emotionally raw performances. 138 min.
Sunday, June 4, 4:15; Thursday, June 29, 7:15. T1    

Cop Land. 1997. USA. With Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel. Stallone departs from his usual muscular action-hero roles and plays the passive and beleaguered sheriff of a fictitious New Jersey town in which New York City cops and their families dwell. Caught in the crossfire of an Internal Affairs investigation, the lawman, accustomed to looking the other way, is compelled to choose between what is easy and what is right. 105 min.
Sunday, June 11, 1:00. T2; Friday, June 23, 6:00. T1

Girl, Interrupted. 1999. USA. Cowritten by Lisa Loomer, Anna Hamilton Phelan, based on the memoir by Susanna Kaysen. With Angelina Jolie, Winona Ryder, Brittany Murphy. Feeling the weight of social pressures in 1960s Massachusetts, an impetuous young woman halfheartedly checks herself into a psychiatric hospital after a suicide attempt. Unexpectedly, her connections with her far-more-disturbed fellow patients lead her toward a path of healing. 127 min.
Sunday, June 18, 2:00; Wednesday, June 28, 6:00. T1

Kate and Leopold. 2001. USA. Cowritten by Steven Rogers. With Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber. A dashing “white knight” from 1876 enters the life of modern-day Kate (Ryan) through a time portal on the Brooklyn Bridge. Chivalry battles contemporary cynicism in this charm-filled romantic comedy chock-full of screwball repartee. Director's cut. 126 min.
Sunday, June 18, 4:30; Thursday, June 29, 5:00. T1

Identity. 2003. USA. Screenplay by Michael Cooney. With John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Ray Liotta. Seemingly unconnected strangers converge at a lonesome motel on a dark and rainy night. This murder mystery and character drama, in which no detail is wasted or accidental, culminates in a jolting plot twist. 87 min.
Thursday, June 22, 6:00; Wednesday, June 28, 8:30. T1

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Pictured above:

Identity. 2003. USA. Directed by James Mangold. © 2003 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.