WABC’s
Eyewitness News pioneered the use of
so-called “Happy Talk” banter, but the legendary Roger Grimsby gave it an
acerbic edge suitable for gritty 1970s New York. It was indeed number one in the
largest local market, but WABC producer Alan Weiss had even higher ambitions.
Tragedy becomes scoopable opportunity when Weiss is admitted to the same
emergency room that labored to save John Lennon’s life. The long dark night of
December 8, 1980 is dramatized in Jeremy Profe’s The Lennon Report (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.
As
several of the real life medical staffers note in the film’s epilogue, this was
very definitely pre-Giuliani New York. Roosevelt Hospital (now Mount Sinai
West) was located in Midtown West, but at the time it regularly admitted
numerous gunshot and stabbing victims each night. It was a relatively prosaic
motorcycle accident that landed Weiss in the ER. Despite the pain in his hip,
Weiss could not miss the whirlwind of activity surrounding a VIP gunshot victim
and he is pretty sure he heard the name John Lennon. However, the doctors and
nurses will not confirm anything and they certainly are not about to help him
communicate with his newsroom. Yes, it was so much easier keeping things under wraps
before the era of smart phones.
Dark
and moody, Report is sort of a
throwback to the sort of contemporary urban chamber dramas that used to be
staples of Golden Age anthology shows like Playhouse
90. Ironically, a story like this is probably too small for television now,
so it must be produced as a feature. To his credit, Profe is quite sensitive in
his depiction of the real life characters. John Lennon’s features are never
shown, nor do we ever really see much of his murderer, besides a few glimpses
of his fat ass in passing. Perhaps most significantly, Karen Tsen Lee portrays Yoko
Ono with such dignity and vulnerability, she might finally convince Beatles
fans to lighten up on her.
Most
of the drama centers on Dr. David Halleran, the young doctor on call charged with
resuscitating his idol, the nursing staff, and the pesky Weiss. Stef Dawson and
Stephen Spinella have some particularly effective and humane moments as Barbara
Kammerer RN and pulmonary specialist Dr. Richards Marks, respectively. Walter Vincent
and Devin Ratray also supply some welcome bantering rapport as Weiss and his
newsroom manager Phil Bernstein, which periodically airs out the film a little,
without dispelling the somber mood.