Hemingway Review: The Avatar & The Blank Page (1929-1961) (Episode 2 & 3)

Burns and Novick’s exploration of the writer’s life and stories continue on Hemingway Episode 2, “The Avatar” and Hemingway Episode 3, “The Blank Page,” as the filmmakers examine the author’s struggles with authenticity, his later years, alcoholism, and his works biographical elements.

While “The Avatar” faces the trauma and tragedy of World War II in a way that somewhat overshadows what Hemingway meets, there are moments that shine in the hour as further insight stems from moments in his youth, like his time in the war and his father’s suicide.

The author’s time in the Florida Keys and the Depression’s effect on his ultimate move to spending more time out in the ocean and Cuba adds another layer of depth, enriching the tale and grit in Hemingway’s life.

By the time “The Blank Page” plays on, there’s a clear cue that we’re watching the crumbling personal life of a man whose once gregarious spirit takes a turn for the menacing and cruel towards those who loved him and was closest to him.

The focus on the creation of Hemingway “the man and the myth” followed by a further deconstruction of who he really was beginning during “The Avatar” and into “The Blank Page” is a sharp contrast to the man we see during “A Writer” as his personal life takes a front seat over the writing he produces, despite being some of the better-received works of his lifetime.

There’s a sense of this search for authenticity and almost obsessive need to assert his masculinity that fuels this era of Hemingway’s writing, from “Death in the Afternoon” to “Green Hills of Africa.”

The juxtaposition between the events of World War II and Hemingway’s deteriorating relationship with Pauline, his second wife, is an interesting choice, and I’m not sure if it makes the impact it is intended.

Martha Gellhorn’s introduction begins another unfaithful chapter in the writer’s story and further another chance at escape to get back to the writing he searches for. His infidelities and relationships serve as bookends for periods in his writing and experiences, from World War I to his time as a war correspondent in Spain during World War II.

Mary Dearborn: F. Scott Fitzgerald said he wanted a new wife for every book.

There’s an ugliness that comes into view in the latter half of Hemingway’s romantic relationships that is only really alluded to in the first two marriages, beyond the infidelity.

The struggles of a writer and the ultimate, tragic full-circle moments of Hemingway becoming his father are done remarkably and with the full force of emotion that it requires.

Ernest Hemingway: It is easy when you are being beaten, he thought…I went out too far.

Parallels among “The Old Man and the Sea” and the point he’s at in his life cuts to the tragedy of growing older in a way that leaves quite an impression.

Ultimately, Hemingway is a balanced look at the larger-than-life rise and destabilizing decline of a less-than-perfect man and the demons that haunted him until his final days while also showcasing the writer’s iconic words that remain a cultural mainstay to this day.

Reporter: He was less an individual than a character. Less a person than an institution.

Stray Observations

• Works discussed: Death in the Afternoon, Green Hills of Africa, Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, Snows of Kilimanjaro, To Have and Have Not, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Across the River and Into the Trees, The Old Man and the Sea.
• It’s when you enter hours 3 and 4 of the documentary that you notice a pattern with Hemingway’s characters, particularly female characters.
• The Dorothy Parker excerpt describing Ernest Hemingway to kick off “The Avatar” feels like an accurate encapsulation of the writer.

What did you think of this episode of Hemingway? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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