Shining A Light on Ghostlight

Our own classical dance diva, Diane S. Frank, reviews the movie - Ghostlight (2003): A glimpse into the turbulent world of legendary dancer/choreographer Martha Graham.

Martha Graham was a small, birdlike woman who was also a giant in the 20th world of modern dance. She invented a movement vocabulary unlike that of classical ballet, and created dances that delved into the most tortured and ecstatic convolutions of the human psyche.



Martha Graham

Ghostlight is a self described homage to idea of Martha Graham. It is part biography, part fantasy and a lot of dance about Martha Graham. It is a movie for dance aficionados, and the night I attended the showing at the Cleveland Art Museum there were only two handfuls of people watching, of who five I knew were dancers or avid patrons. Martha Graham, from her regal pronouncements, her characteristic hairstyle, her lithe body and heavily theatrical clothing is played with élan and cunning by Richard Move a 6’4" drag queen. Why not use a giant to portray someone small who was so much larger than life? Perhaps it takes a giant man to play a giant of a woman.

Richard Move as Martha Graham



Or perhaps it shows how legends can be reduced to the tropes of drag. "Martha", when being interviewed is told that she is often portrayed by men. "Why not?" she replies, "some women have been impersonating women for centuries". If the nod to the drag performance had been limited to this bit, I’d have found the movie more satisfying. However the "Wigstock" refugees who notice Martha in her limo outside of Central Park are an unnecessary and self-indulgent reference to the drag culture from which Move emerged. The movie also follows a drag convention, not seen in live shows much anymore, but honored overall: at the end of the show, the wig comes off to make sure you know that the player was really a man in disguise. This convention was honored in the rock musical "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", and it is honored in "Ghostlight." In the closing credits an audition scene is shown where the actor, all dyed spikey hair, fresh face and very plucked eyebrows reads the part en homme, shocking the other actors with the verisimilitude of mannerism and voice from an image totally at odds with them. This is a conceit, as the drag performer is in fact one of the authors and producers of the film.

But what of the dance you may ask? And what of the acting? The acting sad to say was wooden. Lines were read and people were placed in sets…but only Martha and her tipsy Irish maid seemed to inhabit their characters. But the dance, ah the dance. The cast of dancers, heavily drawn from the current Martha Graham company, and clearly relishing the attention paid to the fanatic quality of their devotion danced wonderfully. The closing montage that summarizes a whole dance is tightly shot, well edited, in context and a thoroughly convincing demonstration of the genius of Graham, leaving no doubt that her movement created drama and theatre in a way totally inaccessible to the classic ballet, yet totally riveting to the audience. And yes, the man playing Martha danced well too, no stunt double involved here. A pleasant surprise, as so much homage and parody never rises to the level of art, but stays on the plane of burlesque.

You likely won’t get to see this film in theatres. Perhaps Cleveland Cinematheque will re-run it. Perhaps it will come out on video tape or DVD. And perhaps one rainy afternoon or snowy evening you’ll remember this review, watch the film and see a little bit of unexpected magic.



For more information about "Ghostlight" see http://www.mannic.com/s_martha.html. If you have high speed internet, there is a very good trailer.