John Sayles - America's Best Unknown Film Director

Writer/director John Sayles is not a household name. Even many movie fans know little of Sayles' work due to most of his films being independent and not receiving wide release. He is considered the father of American independent filmmaking though it is fairer to say that John Cassavettes owns that title. Sayles would be best considered the father of current independent filmmaking. Those that know his work admire it and those who don't should seek it out. His stories often revolve around the common man/woman and every day situations they find themselves in. His protagonists live in a richly textured, authentic setting alive with genuine diversity.

Prior to success in movies, Sayles worked in a wide variety of jobs including meat packer, construction worker, nursing home orderly and factory worker. His knowledge of real people working in real jobs has given his work a rich and authentic layer that is uncommon in most American movies. His films are filled with political awareness and the underlying theme of social concerns.

Sayles began as a novelist in the 1970's before being discovered by legendary low budget film producer/director Roger Corman. Corman is the man responsible for launching the careers of such great talents as Francis Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Jack Nicholson. In 1977 Corman hired Sayles to write low budget films for him at New Line Pictures. The first film to come from this new collaboration was Piranha, (1978), an obvious Jaws rip-off. Corman's instruction to Sayles was to create situations in which the protagonists would find themselves in water.

His next project was The Lady In Red, (1979), a gangster story about the famed woman who tipped off the FBI by wearing a red dress when being escorted to the Biograph Theater by John Dillinger. In 1980 Sayles was the author of Alligator about a giant alligator that is first flushed down a toilet as a baby and survives to become a giant man-eating killer, and Battle Beyond The Stars in which Corman instructed him to write a science-fiction picture that would be "The Seven Samurai in space."

Much like Cassavettes, Sayles took the money he collected from his screenplays to finance the films he has directed. Sayles continued writing for others (The Howling; Clan of the Cave Bear; Breaking In) basing his decisions on which projects to take on "whether or not there was a germ of an idea for a movie I would want to watch." He also made good money serving as a "script doctor," a title given to a writer who comes in to polish a screenplay just prior to or during production without taking credit. Sayles found script doctoring rewarding saying, "I enjoy helping other writers tell their stories as best as they can be told. It also affords me the opportunity to meet directors I might not otherwise meet and see how they work. I've learned a lot by just watching." Sayles has doctored such films as The Challenge, Mimic and Apollo 13.

Also like Cassavettes, Sayles has taken work as an actor usually appearing in small roles in projects he wrote such as Pirahna, The Howling, Something Wild, Straight Talk, Matinee and Malcolm X. He has also appeared in roles in seven of the movies he has directed. Sayles oversees every aspect of his movies and serves as his own editor as well.

Here is a look at the 15 films Sayles has made as writer/director. Unlike most directors, Sayles has yet to make a bad film. Many of them are considered great while even his lesser films are considered good by most standards. Each of them is worth looking for.

THE RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN (1980) - Most people remember the 1983 classic The Big Chill but there is no denying that Sayles' first film inspired Lawrence Kasdan's Academy Award nominated film. Secaucus Seven tells the simple story of a weekend retreat where some friends who were radicals of the 60's reunite to catch up on each other's lives and discover just how much each of them has changed. Made on a budget of $30,000, Sayles set the film entirely in a large house so he didn't have to secure permits for location shooting. He set the film over a weekend to limit costume changes and wrote it about people his age so he could cast his friends in it.

LIANNA (1983) - Lianna tells the story of a lonely woman trapped in an unhappy marriage that becomes attracted to another woman and tries dealing with the fact that she may be a lesbian. She further struggles to keep the marriage alive and her new relationship a secret. Sayles' script is perceptive about how the seeming happiness of every day life in the lives of normal people is sometimes just a cloak for deeper, unresolved issues.

BABY, IT'S YOU (1983) - When the films of director John Hughes and the "Brat Pack" are discussed invariably you hear mention of such movies as "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," "St. Elmo's Fire," and "Pretty in Pink." Interestingly, Baby It's You is precisely that kind of film with its perceptive look at teenage life that pre-dates those films by at least one year. Set in New Jersey in the 60's, Baby It's You tells the story of a middle class Jewish girl (Rosanna Arquette) being pursued by a working class Italian Catholic who calls himself "the sheik." Sayles' eye for detail and ear for real and honest dialogue is prevalent in this overlooked comedy.

THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET (1984) - Sayles takes a stab at social comedy and strikes gold in this tale of an African-American looking alien who lands in Harlem and ends up charming and impressing everyone he meets without ever saying a word and letting them do all the talking. While running from his other worldly pursuers (including one played by Sayles), the "brother" does wonders in a video arcade and helps to smash a drug ring. Sayles uses his comedic premise to make judicious statements about the conditions and lifestyles of African-Americans in a poor, urban setting. This was a unique and risky move for a white director and Sayles pulls it off beautifully.

MATEWAN (1987) - This film marked the first time critics and audiences took notice of Sayles on a wider level. Matewan tells the story of labor troubles in the coalmines in Matewan, West Virginia, in the 1920's. Chris Cooper stars as a union rep that comes to Matewan to pacify tensions between the workers and the union and only serves to stir up tensions that can only lead to one solution. Sayles' deliberate pacing only serves to keep the tension high and once again delivers a perceptive look at the life of hard working men looking for a fair shake.

EIGHT MEN OUT (1988) - Sayles' most accessible film to date is based on the book by Eliot Asimov and tells the true story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox and the decision by some of the players to throw the World Series in exchange for cash from mobsters. The "Black Sox" scandal, as it came to be known, ruined the lives of the men accused as they were forever banned from playing baseball again. Shoeless Joe Jackson, considered by some as one of the greatest to ever play the game, apparently took some money but was so simple minded he apparently wasn't aware he was supposed to help throw some games. The strong numbers he put up in the series supported his argument. Also banned was Buck Weaver who took no money and played to his fullest abilities but knew of the fix and said nothing. Sayles gave himself a nice supporting role as writer Ring Lardner, who figures out what is happening and, in a classic scene, walks through a train car filled with the players and sings "I'm Forever Blowing Ball Games." The film is not as deep or rich as Sayles's other films but is successful in recreating the baseball games and getting terrific performances from a first rate cast including Charlie Sheen, John Cusack, D.B. Sweeney and David Strathairn.

CITY OF HOPE (1991) - Considered the first of Sayles' true masterpieces is this multi-layered character piece about an inner city area and the people who intersect within it. When an apartment block is threatened with development it ignites a series of confrontations on multiple social levels over a three-day period. A large cast is headed by Sayles regulars Chris Cooper, David Strathairn and Joe Morton and also includes Vincent Spano, Tony LoBianco, Angela Bassett, Gina Gershon and Sayles himself as a very bad guy.

PASSION FISH (1992) - Passion Fish is the film that truly opened the eyes of American filmgoers to the talent of Sayles. Mary (Dances With Wolves) McDonnell stars as a bitchy soap opera actress who is paralyzed in an accident in New York and returns to her Louisiana home where she is cared for by a nurse (Alfre Woodard) who has no intention of putting up with the actress' attitude on life. McDonnell got the role of her career and was rewarded with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Woodard steals the movie but was shockingly overlooked for a nomination. Sayles received his first nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH (1993) - Sayles' most unusual film is this charming tale of a young girl sent to live with her grandparents on the Ivory Coast and discovers myths and magic that have affected her family through the years. Sayles cast locals in the lead roles and their authenticity gives the film an even greater spark then its lovely story already provides. Typically it is long and deliberately paced as most Sayles films are but this time it is a slight detriment as it is a film the whole family could enjoy if kids are attentive enough.

LONE STAR (1996) - To date this is Sayles's best film that, on the surface, appears to be a simple murder mystery that is layered with themes of racism, loyalty and even incest. Set in a border town in Texas, Lone Star begins with the discovery of a body in the desert that may, or may not belong to that of a former sheriff who disappeared years ago. Matthew McConaughey plays the present sheriff who happens to be the son of the missing man (Kris Kristofferson) who is seen in flashbacks as a crooked and violent man who likely deserved the fate of the skeleton found whether it is him or not. Most critics lauded Sayles' use of different themes and human cultures to tell his mystery. Sayles earned his second (and last to date) nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

MEN WITH GUNS (1997) - Sayles's most daring film to date was this fascinating drama set in Central America featuring Spanish actors in the leads using sub-titles almost exclusively. The story is of a dedicated doctor who decides to track down former students from a government-sponsored program in the hopes of supplying them with medicine for remote villages and tribes. The journey opens the eyes of the naïve doctor blinded by his own affluence and introduces him to some unlikely characters along the way. Much like his other films, Sayles explores the disputes between the locals or commoners, and the community serving them.

LIMBO (1999) - Set in Alaska, Limbo tells the story of some lonely people who come together in a small town. David Strathairn plays an introvert with a secret who falls for a nightclub singer (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) trying to deal with the failings of her personal life as she picks one loser after another to fall for, and her teenage daughter who is filled with bitterness and resentment. Through a series of events the three end up stranded on an island where they come to know one another as their lives hang in limbo. For many moviegoers the film was a disappointment as Sayles fails to resolve certain things by allowing the audience to make up their own minds as to what is going to happen. In essence he leaves the audience in limbo as well.

SUNSHINE STATE (2002) - Much like City of Hope, Sunshine State tells the lives of many different people while using real estate developers as the antagonist in their lives. Set in the Florida community of Delrona Beach, we meet the citizens who are none too happy that a resort is going to be built in their back yards and the men who come to try and win them over. Sayles populates the film with a large cast including Timothy Hutton, Jane Alexander, Edie Falco, Ralph Waite and Angela Bassett among others.

CASA DE LOS BABYS (2003) - Another interesting venture for Sayles is this story (based on a short story by Sayles) of six American women traveling to a Latin American country in search of babies they can adopt and bring back to the United States. Unable to overcome their longing and their impatience with the bureaucracy and economic contingency south of the border, the tension between American individualism and overarching socioeconomic conditions is vividly explored. Sayles wisely cast strong actresses in the leads including Lili Taylor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daryl Hannah, Mary Steenburgen and Marcia Gay Harden.

SILVER CITY (2004) - Sayles's most recent film is this political drama layered with his usual themes of loyalty, corruption and the environment. Chris Cooper plays a gubernatorial candidate who, quite obviously, is just a pawn for his wiser and more corrupt campaign manager (Richard Dreyfuss). While filming an environmental political ad for his campaign, Cooper finds a body at the end of his fishing reel and a former idealistic journalist now turned private detective is hired to investigate any potential leads that could tie the victim in with the candidate or his family. The investigation leads to layer after layer of corruption involving political lobbyists, the media, environmentalists and illegal migrant workers. Like his other films, Sayles starts us in one direction and leads us on an unsuspecting journey down many different roads.

With each film Sayles may have common themes but tells each story differently and originally while providing string characters and rich dialogue not heard often enough in today's day and age of blockbuster action films and teenage comedies.

Here is the hope that even one reader out there will discover the works of John Sayles and come to believe that not only is he a brilliant writer, but quite possibly is the best American director working in film today.