On Discovering the Opera in American Cinema with Margaret

“This is not an opera”, screams Jeannie Berlin’s Emily to Anna Paquin’s Lisa as the latter turns the death of the former’s close friend into a moment of personal transcendence. Only, Margaret is an opera and Lisa is the self appointed star, to whom all else are players in this egocentric tragic tale unfolding on the grandest of America stages, New York City.

Operatic music swells from the opening slow motion shot of New Yorkers going about their daily lives. Writer, director Kenneth Lonergan stating from the start, this is a film about observing the lives of ordinary people. And, with the exception of the horrific accident that forms the spine of Margaret, the film (especially the first half of this three hour opera) pays close attention to the mundanity of Lisa’s teenage life; the boyfriends, the drugs, the holiday plans, the crushes, the arguments, the class debates, the familial and so on. Lonergan draws all this from Paquin in a remarkable performance that is delicately complex, bringing forth her sexually, naivety and selfishness.

Margaret is an original screenplay by Lonergan, yet feels literary, or perhaps that should be theatrical. This is a film of talking, too much talking, with great impact. Characters all have a distinctive voice and are not afraid to share it, often over the top of others, adding a great sense of naturalism to Margaret. Much of the camera framing is still or slow moving, with careful framing emphasising the actors more than the setting (the exception to this being Lonergan’s slow cinematic sweeping shots of the cityscape). This feels less like contemporary American cinema that pays much attention to affected cinematography. This is not a criticism, just a sign of changing fashions, but seeing Lonergan’s film now, with his focus on cinematography and direction on character, provides the effect of watching a American classic.

It is possible that Margaret will become an American classic. That it has even seen the screen is a testament to its fighting spirit. Filmed in 2005 and released in 2011 the delay was legal and only now on DVD can Lonergan’s 180 minute final cut be appreciated. Although reviews of the 160 minute cut were mostly fantastic. The title is taken from a Gerard Manley Hopkins poem, Spring and Fall To a Young Child, a poem about being unable to express oneself as a child and age altering innocence. Lisa speaks and acts with the air of a genuine teenager who cannot believe a world outside of what little she can imagine exists. This is cinematic opera and appropriately ends with Lisa and her mother finding each other, while at the opera.