Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Race for the Double Helix (1987)

Director: Mick Jackson                                 Writer: William Nicholson
Film Score: Peter Howell                              Cinematography: Andrew Dunn
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Tim Pigott-Smith, Alan Howard and Juliet Stevenson

The phrase “TV Movie” has been a pejorative description ever since those programs first appeared. Low budgets, lesser talent, and weak production values make for films that will never be able to compete, in terms of quality, with feature films produced by a major studio. One of the delights, however, in any generalization is the exception to the rule. Race for the Double Helix, a BBC production from 1987, is a magnificent piece of work that can hold its own with any feature film, and has been one of my favorite films of all time since I first saw it on the A&E Network.

Nominally based on James Watson’s book, Double Helix, (the “Race” was added to the title of the film for American audiences) the film concerns the discovery of the structure of DNA, the genetic material that is responsible for the reproduction of life on earth. Watson had been doing research in molecular biology in Europe and eventually made his way to London, working at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge with Francis Crick. The two of them struck up a friendship based on their interest in “genes,” at the time an imaginary structure that was responsible for replication of biological organisms. By using guile and taking daring guesses, they were able to deduce the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953. The two of them, along with Maurice Wilkins, were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962 and would have been joined by Rosalind Franklin had she not died in the interim.

I call the film “Rocky for Geeks.” Not only is it highly inspirational, but the film itself, from its construction, to the script, to the acting, is incredibly intellectual. Director Mick Jackson works primarily in television, but has done some feature films like L.A. Story and The Bodyguard. But it’s William Nicholson’s script that almost leaps off the screen. Of course, he has been responsible for some major blockbusters, Gladiator, Elizabeth and Les Miserables among them. He turned the story into something akin to a musical piece, with separate movements named for phrases in the script that guide our understanding of the story. It really is a beautiful piece of work, with subtle humor and understated drama that is absolutely enthralling.

The big coup at the time was getting Jeff Goldblum to play Watson, thereby enhancing the credentials of the production. But the rest of the British actors are just as good. Tim Pigott-Smith as Crick is a vastly underrated actor who has been fantastic in everything he’s been in. Alan Howard as Wilkins falls into the same category, stunning in The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover but unfortunately limited to television work thereafter. Juliet Stevenson is the real star of the show as Rosalind “Rosie” Franklin. And even though her biographer, Brenda Maddox, took issue with the way that she was portrayed, she is still a captivating character and her unsung role in the discovery is amply demonstrated.

Now the bad news. This is one of those films, especially TV movies, that has yet to make an appearance on DVD, and there’s no telling when or if it will happen at all. With relatively few original VHS copies out on the market, those that are for sale are ridiculously overpriced. My copy was taken off of the television, minus the commercials, on VHS and then subsequently converted to MP4 so that I could watch it on TV from my iPod. The picture lags, but the soundtrack is fine. I can upload it to one of my websites if anyone is interested. Race for the Double Helix is not just great science, but great filmmaking, inspirational and artistic, a brilliant film in almost every respect.

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