Women’s History Month Spotlight- Elaine May: A Hidden Trailblazer
The advent of cinema was a liberating experience. Men and women alike were given keys to this new medium, allowing for female filmmakers like Lois Weber to make statements through her work. However, as film became more lucrative and industrialized, filmmaking became a boys’ club. By introducing major production companies and restrictive content laws, few female filmmakers were able to slip through the cracks, creating an imbalance in the stories being told.
Elaine May’s ascent to Hollywood came at a tumultuous time. Americans fell in love with May in the late fifties through her comedy sketches. Mike Nichols (a now famous film director) and May appeared on Broadway and night shows to endless applause. With a restless spirit, May abandoned the duo to look for more challenging avenues, and found herself behind the typewriter for the majority of the sixties.
May’s directorial debut, A New Leaf (1971), came from a moment of desperation. May sold the script with no intention of directing or starring in the film, but her producer made a deal with the studio that gave her the reigns. This was not uncommon for the time; Hollywood was taking risks on younger and odder directors and stories, hoping for the next Bonnie and Clyde. Despite this, May’s title as director was the one of the first for women in Hollywood, with only Ida Lupino standing as a female director over Hollywood’s history until then.
A New Leaf would see May become a filmmaker of high caliber and daring ideas. From her first moments behind the camera, her directorial spirit had definition and purpose. The film, along with all her others, focused on the foolish plot of a man and made a point of highlighting its foolishness. Along with this, the film sparked May’s trademark move of overdoing things. The film went $22 million dollars and forty days over budget, resulting in a still-unseen three hour director’s cut of the 112 minute film. May consistently pushes beyond the boundaries in whatever she does, whether it be writing, performing, or directing.
The comedy of an Elaine May film comes from the pain of it. The male protagonists are held to the light for their idiotic plots, whether it be marrying a 19-year-old they just met or touring hotel lobbies in the Middle East. While we stand at bay watching these plots unfold, we are constantly reminded of the absurdity of them through May’s choices, placing an extra actor to stare at the action or a shot that hangs for too long.
May hasn’t been exactly welcomed into the feminist filmmakers’ canon. Her male-centered stories see women put down, treated as objects, or generally neglected. This demonstration is by May’s design: by putting this into her work in such a deadpan manner, she forces the audience to see how often men will treat people without care or manner.
One of May’s greatest feats, Mikey and Nicky (1977), tells the story of a man on the run with his best friend over a long night. Throughout the course of the night, we learn that Nicky is being set up by Mikey, his best friend. This tragedy goes through alleys, movie theaters, and bars. In this time, we see the men abuse women, chirp at old ladies, and even hurt each other. By putting such honest and ugly characters on the screen, May reveals the truth through cinema. Unsurprisingly, the film doubled its budget and May shot over 1.4 million feet of film, setting producers across Hollywood aflame.
The tumultuous production of Mikey and Nicky kept May out of the director’s chair for about a decade, until she teamed with writing partner Warren Beatty to put together a new film: Ishtar (1987). The film, despite it’s star power and strong script, was doomed from the get-go. Ishtar focuses on the foolishness and wrongdoings of the CIA through the lens of two godawful lobby singers with a blind camel. The comedy was too unhinged for mass audiences, with tens of minutes dedicated to out of tune singing and songwriting. The film's $27.5 million expected budget ended up around $51 million, as the result of countless producers, cinematographers, and others leaving and joining the crew. Besides this, May was more of a perfectionist than ever: she demanded entire sand hills be plowed over and argued with everyone on set about every decision.
The film historically bombed, locking May out of the director’s spot. Since then, May has collaborated on writing and acting for the screen and the stage, working with longtime collaborators like Mike Nichols and Jeannie Berlin. In 2019, a project starring Dakota Johnson called Crackpot was announced, but no word has dropped since. Through her short-lived career, May taught us the power of questioning what goes on around us, how women are treated, and if we should really trust the men in charge. May’s career has blazed the way for directors who want to do things their own way, for those who are unafraid of fighting for perfection.
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A New Leaf is available on the Criterion Channel
The Heartbreak Kid is available on Youtube for free
Mikey and Nicky is available on Amazon Prime Video The Criterion Channel, and HBO Max
“Refocus: the Films of Elaine May” is a fantastic study of the iconic filmmaker’s entire career, and is available at the FSU Library.
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Written by: Rory Donohue | Instagram
Art by: Cassidy Elibol
