Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey (Scott Teems, 2014): USA

Reviewed by Lia Durham. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2015.

Hal Holbrook has been playing the part of Mark Twain in a one man show consistently for the past 60 years. Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey directed by Scott Teems and produced by Santa Barbara native Laura D. Smith follows Holbrook as he performs and reminisces about his past 2,000 performances.

Using real speeches and essays of Twain’s Holbrook arranges a show specific to the cultural times and audiences he’s performing for on any certain night. With such a deep knowledge of Twain he can pick and choose pieces the morning of a show. He has a hand in every aspect of the performance, from lighting to how the props are arranged on his desk on stage. Holbrook even does his own makeup for the role, he uses the same suitcase he’s had for years which has everything he needs for his transformation including the prosthetic nose.

He started performing as Twain because it was the only way to get bookings. He would tour with his then wife doing a variety show with his impersonation of Twain at the end. His impression became the most popular part of the act and he’s been playing him ever since. When he’s on stage he is in full control the audience is in his hands.

Shot over the course of five years this documentary is like a concert film. It begins with Holbrook the morning of a show and we get to see the whole process of him transforming into this iconic man and performing on stage. Throughout the film we see clips of him performing through the years and also see interviews of different actors who have been inspired by his work such as Emile Hirsch, Cherry Jones and Sean Penn. But the most insightful segments are the interviews with Holbrook himself. As he looks back on his life with unabashed honesty and evaluates the choices he’s made concerning family, career and love.

It was Holbrook’s wife the actress Dixie Carter who first had the idea of making a film about his most famous role. Unfortunately she passed away before they began but everyone involved wanted to go on and make the film in her honor. The most touching moments in the film is when Holbrook talks about his late wife.

The documentary is in black and white giving it a timeless feel which goes perfectly with the timeless performance of Holbrook as Twain. The fact that he can play the same character for most of his life and still want to keep doing it, still have fun with it and still keep it fresh is pretty amazing. Holbrook will celebrate his 90th birthday this year with a performance of his classic one man show, sounds like a good birthday to me.