as an uptight New Yorker with
his act together. To Stock, Dean
is a trainwreck, a social outsider. The truth is Stock’s life is
a mess, a failed marriage and
an estranged son the result of
his professional drive. On a trip
to Dean’s hometown, the actor
morphs into the belle of the ball,
as socially well adjusted as he
could be.
While DeHaan was born to portray Dean, it’s Pattinson’s Stock
who is the more interesting
character here. He’s only slightly
NewJerseyStage.com
older than Dean, but given the
nature of the social changes of
1950s America, he may as well
be his grandfather, part of a generation that kept their emotions
to themselves. Dean however is
a product of a post-war reassessment of masculinity, set, along
with Brando, Clift and Garfield,
to change the idea of a leading
man forever.
There’s a generation now that
probably doesn’t know who
Dean is. Thirty years ago, every
cheap diner, and some expen-
2015 - ISSUE 11
ARTICLES
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