Willem Dafoe's Revival as a Forgotten Poet: Kent Jones's Magical Drama Explores the Realm of Bohemia Past and Present
In the heart of New York City, a forgotten poet named Ed Saxberger (portrayed by Willem Dafoe) steps back into the limelight in the film "Late Fame," directed by Kent Jones. Ed, who has been working at the post office for 37 years, was once a key figure in the downtown scene, mingling with punks, artists, and Warhol/Waters exhibitionist misfits.
Ed's book of poetry, titled "Way Past Go," was published in 1979, but it is only now that a new generation of admirers, such as Meyers and Brussard, are coveting him. They admire him for his walking signifier of artistic fearlessness, yet it remains unclear if they truly value his art or view him merely as an accessory.
Meyers, a member of a group called the Enthusiasm Society, is one such admirer. He and a group of friends believe Ed Saxberger to be a god of a writer after reading "Way Past Go." Meyers, who lives in a sprawling, impeccably furnished apartment and is on friendly terms with Siri, manages to convince Ed to meet his latter-day Zoomer fans at a tavern.
The Enthusiasm Society, a group of recent college graduates, mostly from NYU and other elite institutions, are passionate about art and dislike technology and social media. They occupy a big open space upstairs in a tavern in the East Village, across the room from a table of "influencers" they consider their nemesis.
The Enthusiasm Society, with a name that is somewhat dorky but intended as a rebuke to hip cynicism, is not explicitly listed in the provided search results. None of the sources directly name its members.
Ed's performance at the tavern is a revelation. When he finally gets up on stage to read a poem from "Way Past Go," he reveals how modern the poem sounds, with lost-world New York references, an insistent male gaze, and jagged three-dimensionality of the language, but it is also a thing of beauty that falls on our ears like music.
Gloria, an older woman in the Enthusiasm Society, is an actor and singer who is portrayed as a postmodern vamp fatale from the '80s, a cross between Louise Brooks and Lydia Lunch (with Tura Satana's eye makeup). She performs Brecht/Weill's "Surabaya Johnny" with a primal cabaret power at a poetry reading, turning the song into a four-minute autobiography.
"Late Fame" is a film about a central character who goes on a journey into his past and the question of whether who he was and what he was can still exist in the present. It is a poignant exploration of the enduring power of art and the struggle of artists to find their place in a rapidly changing world.
Kent Jones, the director of "Late Fame," is known for his naturalistic filmmaking style and deep, dramatic curiosity. His latest work promises to be a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant addition to the cinematic landscape.
