Pollock

As an actor portraying the inner turmoil of Jackson Pollock--the revolutionary abstractionist known for his splatter-and-drip painting style--Ed Harris gives a commanding, potent performance, effectively capturing the torrential mix of chaotic talent and more chaotic psyche. As a director, Ed Harris (yes, he did double-duty on this film) captures with vivid, lively authenticity both the astute yet pretentious buzz of the 1940s Manhattan art scene and his subject's tumultuous personal life, marked by hard drinking and a stormy long-term affair with fellow painter Lee Krasner (Marcia Gay Harden). An intense, invigorating cinematic biography that thrives on Pollock's manic energy, even as it gives little insight into his creative process, Pollock is recommended. (R. Blackwelder)