Pollock (2000)

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Pollock (2000) tells American painter Jackson Pollock's story during his rise to fame as one of the defining artists of the Abstract Expressionist movement. His gigantic, loudly colorful, flowing canvases transformed and transfixed the art world in the 1940s and beyond. 

If people would just look at the paintings, I don't think they would have any trouble enjoying them. It's like looking at a bed of flowers, you don't tear your hair out over what it means. 

—Jackson Pollock

Here, Ed Harris stars in an Oscar-nominated role as the famous American painter. Marcia Gay Harden (who won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role) plays opposite Harris as Lee Krasner, a fellow painter who becomes Pollock's champion and eventual wife. Seeing unpublished images of the artist and couple, it's clear that the actors nailed it. The movie also introduces us to Peggy Guggenheim, (played by Amy Madigan of Uncle Buck fame!), Willem DeKooning (Val Kilmer), and Ruth Kligman (Jennifer Connelly), Pollock's mistress later in life.

Seeing Pollock's technique in action—starting early on when paint was applied to the canvas straight from the tube in a painting that looks darn close to the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Male and Female (1942–43, shown below), and moving through the discovery and development of the drip/splatter effect—was definitely a highlight.

Practically in tandem with Movie Night, Design*Sponge featured Living In: Pollock—a very cool feature on their blog, and worth checking out, since I made special note of some set/costume highlights during the film: the toaster in Lee and Jackson's apartment, juice tumblers with a pink diamond pattern, and Ruth Kligman's fabulous black one-piece bathing suit.

Movie Rating

Plot: 4

Cinematography: 3.625

Acting: 3.75

Average: 3.8

For dinner, we each transformed a humble plate of nachos into individual works of art. (And we learned a homemade recipe for nacho cheese, to boot!) 

It turns out there was quite a bit of eating and food throughout the movie, as well. Scrambled eggs, coffee, a standard "meat and potatoes" dinner, orange juice, toast, poached eggs, sandwiches, watermelon, clams—a Long Island tradition, Corn Flakes, potatoes, milk, bread, Schlitz beer, and green beans all show up. Thanskgiving dinner is prepared but never gets eaten. Some additional dinner ideas include Pollock (a white fish, who knew?!), and anything titled (or made to be titled) "drunken". Critics even compare Pollock's work to baked macaroni, so dig out your favorite recipe and see how if there's a resemblance!

"Painted" Nachos

Serves 4 as a hearty main meal or up to 8 as a snack

INGREDIENTS

For the homemade nacho cheese:

2 TB butter

3 TB flour

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (we used Monterey Jack)

4 oz. can chopped green chiles

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

handful of cilantro, minced

1/2 cup red salsa

For the sour cream sauce:

1/2 cup sour cream

juice of 1 lime

For assembly:

1 bag of tortilla chips (we used—and love—Tostitos bite size)

1 rotisserie chicken

2 tomatoes, diced

1 avocado, diced

3 scallions, diced

handful of cilantro, chopped

remainder of the jar of red salsa

1 jar of salsa verde

lime wedges

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Disassemble the chicken, discarding the skin, and shred the meat. I froze the carcass for making chicken stock.

To make the nacho cheese sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour to create a roux. Whisk in the milk, being careful to break up any clumps of flour. Reduce heat to medium and allow the mixture to thicken, about 5-7 minutes. Add the shredded cheese to the thickened sauce and reduce heat to low. Once the cheese has melted, stir in the can of green chiles, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, and salsa. Continue to heat until everything is nice and warm.

Meanwhile, make the sour cream sauce by simply mixing the lime juice and sour cream together until smooth.

When the cheese is ready, assemble your masterpiece: layer tortilla chips, chicken, and cheese sauce (and anything else you'd like warm; I chose to add tomatoes and scallions at this stage) on a baking sheet or oven-safe plate and place in the heated oven for 10 minutes. 

Once warmed through, add the remaining ingredients (tomatoes, avocado, scallions, cilantro) and top with finishing touches from your "palette": more nacho cheese, traditional salsa, sour cream sauce, and salsa verde. Squeeze fresh lime wedges over everything and dig in!

A jaunt through the Whole Foods bakery for dessert yielded these perfectly drizzled and filled donuts (caramel and chocolate). Boy, were they a treat!

Dinner Rating

Movie Relevance: 4

Taste: 3.75

Average: 3.875