REVIEW
by Steve Fesenmeier
July 17, 2004
I finally saw one of the most anticipated indie feature films to be made in WV in the last few years, Jack Phelan’Äôs film, ’ÄúThe Fifth String.’Äù Phelan hooked up with WV musicians Dwight Diller and John Morris to present his tale about the need to keep ’Äúthe music alive.’Äù Diller plays a musicologist professor at the University of Philadelphia who is called home to attend the funeral of his beloved musical uncle. Despite a giant grant proposal deadline, he flies to the Greenbrier County airport, and makes it in time for the funeral. The Doctor of Philosophy has to face his childhood demons, and after being arrested for speeding to make his departure, decides that he must return to his homeplace.
The soundtrack is sensational, well done, and energizing. It can easily be compared to the million-selling soundtrack for ’ÄúOh Brother Where Art Thou?’Äù It’Äôs great to hear all of the tunes with images that match. The black and white scenes that are flashbacks are very well done, looking genuinely like old-time home movies from the Fifties.
Both my native West Virginian wife and myself loved the film. She is a graduate of Glenville, and went to school with John’Äôs brother Dave. She also knew several of the guest stars including Mack Samples. Other guest stars include Kate Long, Bill and Becky Kimmons, and Pete Kosky who loaned me his copy so I could finally see the film. I had been e-mailing Phelan about showing the film at the Sutton-based West Virginia Filmmakers Film Festival last year when I first heard about the film, but he decided to hold it back ’Äì to tune it up and look for a distributor.
Diller, like Larry Groce, is a fine musician, but also like Groce, simply cannot express emotion like a film actor should. Groce starred in Daniel Boyd’Äôs last feature film, ’ÄúParadise Park,’Äù(now sold as ’ÄúHeroes of the Heart’Äù on Amazon.com) and was similarly wooden. I am also puzzled by the tension supporting this story since it appears to me that the character Dillard plays ’Äì a professor teaching Appalachian music in Philadelphia ’Äì is doing an excellent job ’Äúkeeping the music alive.’Äù
Diller’Äôs professorial character comments that everyone in Appalachia has had to live down ’Äúthe H-word,’Äù hillbilly ’Äì and the TV shows and ’ÄúDeliverance.’Äù Oddly, the film presents some of the same stereotypes including a clogging waitress, a fast-driving brother in a burnt-out old automobile who seems aged way past his years. The very message of the film shows that Appalachians are ’Äúyesterday’Äôs people,’Äù playing old-time music, not that ’Äúawful rock and roll.’Äù (In one scene when Diller calls his wife, his son is drowning out their phone call with his rock music.) Even the scene in the jail looks very close to a Mayberry jail scene popular for decades on ’ÄúThe Andy Griffith Show.’Äù
None of this is to say it is not a film well worth watching. Hopefully it will be shown at the State Cultural Center in Charleston with a live musical presentation. Diller showed the film once in Marlinton at the Opera House with an introduction. (I made a poster for the event, sponsored by the Pocahontas County Free Libraries, using a cover from one of Diller’Äôs albums.) I also hope that it gets shown at Vandalia in spring 2005 and everywhere else in West Virginia, and at every Appalachian music festival. It is a touching story, and great to see the locations in Pocahontas County and Clay County. Both Morris and Diller have done much to keep mountain music alive ’Äì as have the many guests including my friend Bob Taylor who is shown playing at ’ÄúThe Jubilee.’Äù