James Dean wasn’t moody, he was homesick

I, like many people, have a fascination with James Dean. If someone was to ask me why, I would find it hard to articulate. There is just something about him that intrigues me, so I had to see the film LIFE staring Rob Pattinson and Dane DeHaan.

I was a little hesitant, because the movie was getting mediocre reviews, but I’m glad I did. Anton Corbijn portrayed a different side of James Dean. He alter my image of him from Americana icon to human being.

The only thing lacking in this film is Rob Pattinson’s weak character development. He came across as desperate and annoying. It’s too bad, because DeHaan performance was great and could’ve been escalated to brilliant with the right partner to execute scenes.

My favourite scene is when they're on the train to Indiana and Dean tells Dennis Stock about his mother. DeHaan did it with such a genuine innocence that if you only watch one scene from the film watch this one.

It is a great segway for the final scene where DeHaan recites James Whitcomb Riley’s poem We Must Get Home, the same one Dean is reading in the famous Life Magazine photo spread Moody New Star: http://time.com/3490132/beautiful-enigma-life-with-james-dean/.

This section summarizes the entire film concept for me:  

We must get home again--we must--we must!--
(Our rainy faces pelted in the dust)
Creep back from the vain quest through endless strife
To find not anywhere in all of life
A happier happiness than blest us then ...
We must get home--we must get home again!

Link to full poem: http://genius.com/James-whitcomb-riley-we-must-get-home-annotated

Sometimes when we’re lost the instinctual reaction is to go home and that is exactly what Dean did. He was on the cusp of stardom and struggling with the transition. Stock had the rare opportunity to capture that transition which makes the LIFE Magazine photo spread so special.  

For such a short career, Dean has a stellar portfolio which makes me wonder what his career would’ve looked like if he hadn’t died so young. I’ve heard people say that he was misunderstood, but I don’t agree. I think he was just like a lot of artists who struggle to balance the need to express themselves without sacrificing their ethos.