Review of Mask (1985) by James M — 29 Nov 2009

Eric Stoltz is fantastic as Rocky Dennis, a teenage afflicted with a horribly disfiguring disease, but the surprise here is Cher, in a mature, tour de force performance as Rocky's mum, a reforming junkie with Hell's Angels buddies.

Despite his mum's problems and his own obvious ones, Rocky triumphs over adversity to win over his teachers, fellow students and prejudices of society to become an inspiration to those in his life.

While the story primarily concerns Rocky, there's just as much running time dedicated to his mother, Rusty, and the mask that she wears (wanting the world to see her as a tough biker chick, when she's really a fragile woman scared to death by her son's impending doom and turning to drink and drugs to cope).

A great film based on a true story, excellently adapted by screenwriter Anna Hamilton Phelan, and sporting good work from veteran makeup artist Michael Westmore.

If anything negative can be said about Mask, it could only be to Peter Bogdanovich's directorial style. It looks like a tv movie, possibly due to the cinematography, which isn't exactly a bad thing, but had it been more cinematic perhaps it would have reached a greater audience. That being said, perhaps it's best that it was done low-key, as it seems more real and more convincing as a true story.