All of the news articles that first appeared about generation Um back in late August of 2010 clearly stated that Mark Mann was directing the film and that he also had written the script. Other than the synposis that appear for the American Film Market in fall of 2010, there wasn’t much known about the film (see Collider).
It was somewhat of a surprise to read in the German review for the Threesome: A Night in New York (generation Um) DVD release that the film is a fictional sequel to Finishing Heaven. Normally when a film is referred to as a sequel, I like to know what went before it. In this case, some knowledge of Finishing Heaven may provide a contextual framework for generation Um.
What is Finishing Heaven About?
NYU film school student Robert Feinberg sees himself as the next great director and sets off to make his first film Heaven in 1970. The film was produced in part by a young Martin Scorsese who also provided some on set guidance. The film, set in New York during the height of the Andy Warhol era, is an avant-garde portrait of bohemian life in the Big Apple. The youthful cast included some Warhol superstars (Mary Woronov and Ondine) and starred Feinberg’s romantic interest, Ruby Lynn Reyner. After principal photography, Feinberg began the process of editing the piece but never finished it.
Thirty plus years later, Ruby Lynn Reyner, upon hearing that the film still exists, sets out to convince Feinberg to finish his film. One thing lead to another and in the process Reyner crossed paths with Mark Mann who successfully pitched the idea of making a movie about Feinberg finishing his movie Heaven.
In essence, Finishing Heaven follows Robert Feinberg and Ruby Lynn Reyner as they reconnect and attempt to finish their film 37 years later.
Finishing Heaven was selected by the Los Angeles Film Festival to compete in the Documentary category. In the write up for the LA Film Fest film guide, Christine Davilia wrote:
In this fascinating collision of past and present, Feinberg and Reyner’s explosive romantic history intertwines with their ongoing artistic collaboration, and their viewing of the frozen-in-time celluloid in the editing room stirs up long-lost yet lingering dreams. Part nostalgia trip, part cautionary tale, Mark Mann’s documentary sympathetically relates the timeless plight of struggling with the pressure and weight of one’s own lofty expectations. (bolding mine)
The documentary had its broadcast debut on HBO on September 30, 2009. The Wall Street Journal posted a piece on the film that day and had the following to say:
He (Mark Mann) crafted a complex portrait of two would-be stars who never quite were, and a look at what happens when someone’s creative machinery blows a gasket. Said Mann: “The film deals with a population group that’s overlooked but everywhere: people who have dreams but have put them aside because they can’t figure out how to move forward with them.”
Additionally a synopsis and interview with Mark Mann about the making of the documentary can be viewed on its HBO page.
The Finishing Heaven promo trailer.
Reviews
The reviews for the documentary were favorable. Here are some of the more interesting ‘money quotes’ from the reviews and the links have been provided for those who want to read the entire piece.
In a review for PopMatters by Cynthia Fuchs, we get a feel for the frame of reference for the film when she says:
Finishing Heaven is less concerned with explaining or even understanding Feingold than it is in seeing him as a kind of symptom—of the era he remembers so fondly, its ambition and ambivalence. His relationship with Ruby is key to that portrait: they argue repeatedly and repetitively, revisiting old passions, remembering why they were together and why they split up. Heaven—unfinished and unresolved—shapes and reflects the relationship, at once a metaphor and a stack of film cans.
We hear from Ruby Lynn Reyner on why Feinberg can’t seem to finish his film.
…“Half of him, maybe 40% of him, wants to finish it. Sixty percent of him can’t. I don’t think it’s like he knows that he can’t finish it. He doesn’t know. He’s just floundering around,” Reyner says, her face close to the camera…
…Reyner describes the symptom he embodies somewhat differently: “He can’t finish something because, then what? He couldn’t be a victim. He’d have to live his life like anybody else.”…
Amy Nicholson at BoxOffice, offers the following on Feinberg and his unfinished film:
There’s procrastination, and then there’s perfectionism. Those afflicted with the former will finish a project whenever (or if-ever) they do—whatever, dude, life goes on. Those crippled by the latter realize too late their life has been nothing but pause and rewind. Feinberg is one of those trapped in a second-act artistic prison.
While all of the reviews had some insight to offer on Finishing Heaven, Rebecca Ford, I think, from Life In LA offered up the most. She succinctly characterized the film in a way that shows the universal relevance of Feinberg’s hell.
As unique as Feinberg’s tale may seem, however, this film is just another story about another dream that died in the process. There are plenty of people in this world who dreamed of being an astronaut or a film star and instead ended up as a grocery store clerk, a bank teller or (in Feinberg’s case) a cruise greeter.
In closing she says:
A documentary like this, which is sort of the opposite of the coming-of-age movie (a “coming-to-an-end” movie, maybe), easily raises lots of great dramatic themes to investigate. The fear of failure, failed dreams, broken love, lost youth and regret all bubble up to the surface in this film. (bolding mine)
Is There a Connection to generation Um?
That’s a good question and at this point, I honestly don’t know. Indies aren’t everyone’s cup of tea so this film has a barrier to overcome right from the start. The original synopsis from Fall of 2010 has left many with the impression that the film is loaded with sex and drugs crammed into a short time span with a little self-discovery thrown in. Some have not been able to get past the literalness of the plot description and look ahead to the possibilities that the characters’ journey may offer. As someone who gravitates to Indies, I have been doing my best to keep an open mind. Since learning about Finishing Heaven, though, that has become much easier and my reference point overall for the film has shifted.
Collider has posted a more detailed synopsis for the film along with their trailer coverage that I have not seen elsewhere. Clearly, John, Mia and Violet all have issues that renders them dysfunctional in someway and has locked them into their own personal hell and their current life style. The video camera appears to be the key to unraveling the back story for Violet and Mia and how they ended up where they are. The clarity they gain, if any, from the experience of being filmed and ‘interviewed’ by John and whether these new insights allow them to move forward and escape the trappings of their current circumstances remains to be seen.
John, from the the little we know, appears to be an enigma. In the trailer, we hear him say on his birthday that he has come to a point in his life where the disappointment in himself is greater that the disappointment of his parents in him. What is that disappointment based on? Did he adopt his parents expectations for himself and try to live up to those? Did he ever have a dream of his own and if he did what was it and how or why did it go awry? Does the experience of filming the girls and asking them questions do anything to unravel his own back story and if so how? While not stated implicitly anywhere, the experience of recording everything and seeing life through the camera lens frees John in some way since he says, “It feels good to be myself again.”, according to the German review for the DVD release.
Prior to hearing about Finishing Heaven, I most likely would have watched generation Um and taken it at face value waiting for it to reach out and grab me. Now, I will be going on a journey with the characters looking for answers to some of these questions. Will the film deliver? Well come April 26, I reckon I’ll find out.
Note: This is an original piece that I wrote specifically for this site.
References (listed in order they are used):
http://collider.com/generation-um-images-poster/
https://mr-reeves.com/german-review-of-generation-um-dvd/
http://filmguide.lafilmfest.com/tixSYS/2008/filmguide/eventnote.php?EventNumber=6461
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/tag/finishing-heaven/
http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/finishing-heaven/index.html#/documentaries/finishing-heaven/index.html
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/112423-finishing-heaven/
http://www.boxoffice.com/reviews/2008-07-finishing-heaven
http://lifeinla.com/5938/0/FINISHING+HEAVEN+IS+WORTH+FINISHING.html
http://collider.com/generation-um-trailer/