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Chapter 20: The Love Nest
- Southern Illinois University Press
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CUpf«28 The Love Nest (March 1923) Courtesy of the Aodemy of Mocion I'i, (ure Aru ~lId Sciences ShortlY into the makingof 'Ite Love Nest, }osepll M. Schenck Jetemlined that Keaton, whose talents he felt were beingwasted in short films, should begin making features. The Keaton Studios suspended operations in March 1923 to prepare for the newschedule .1 As a conclusion to his two-reel career, The Love Nest condenses all the best:ofBusier- hisdream- mind; his thoughtful perceptionsof Machine, Woman, Nature, and Self; his wry IlUmorand The Love Nest mesmerizing agility-and all the best of Keaton as director into a snappy visual portrait of a whole, feeling hero. The lessons learned and unlearned over eighteen short-film lives are evident in this last, nineteenth, existence . While Keaton may have made these films with little intention of linking them thematically, nonetheless his style and outlook have aligned the films in a continuum that nurtures a uniquely dimensional comic persona. The Love Nest, long considered "lost" and reconstructed by Raymond Rohauer from various sources in the 1970s, is a resounding cap to Keaton's independent short films. It celebrates Buster the child grown at last into an adult. The film opens with a poignant title, one bristling with the doubleedged meaning of Life-that for every bit of beauty there is a corresponding pain. EVEN THE BEST SUNSET ISN'T MUCH GOOD WHEN YOUR GIRL CHOOSES TO TELL YOU GOODBYE. We are plunged into a situation that has been vitally important for Buster in nearly every short: having a lifelong mate. An equally moving image brands the effect of Buster's silent rejection on our minds: silhouetted by a fence against the best of sunsets on the sea, Buster and his girl fade into view. She has turned her back on him, but he reaches out to her. Whether his hand wants to hold her or to shake goodbye, it is nonetheless ignored. Another title follows: BUSTER DECIDED TO SWEAR OFF WOMEN FOREVER. Keaton emphasizes Buster's sudden about-face as his way of dealing with this blow to his romantic nature. His reaction is a sign of a desperately sensitive soul-one who pretends not to care, but whose drastic move belies the depth of his sadness. We fade into a shot of a small boat roped to a pier, then cut to a close-up of Buster's handwritten letter to the girl: YOUTREACHEROUS VIPER, SINCEYOU BROKEOFFOURENGAGEMENT, IHAVE DECIDED NOTTOMARRY YOU. IAMLEAVINGFORA TRIP AROUND THE WORLD TO FORGET YOU. YOURS-BUTNO MORE BUSTER The shots seem like fragments of a soul, flashes of moments, more photographs in the album of time. Buster retaliates with a stinging name for his girl, YOU TREACHEROUS vIPER-melodramatic and therefore comical, but still logical to a childlike, sometimes childish creature. He resorts to name-calling to compensate for his hurt feelings. He reminds her of what [18.209.66.87] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 01:08 GMT) The Love Nest could have been hers (YOURS) and almost relishes taunting her with the loss, as if he is doing the breaking off (-BUT NO MORE). The world-bound vessel reveals its ironic name to us in the next shot: CUPID. Buster stands in the nose of the boat covered by a tent; he symbolically stands in and is surrounded by the symbol of romance (as critical as the air he breathes) while holding a photo of Viper. We peer at the photo from a slightly high angle, past Buster's shoulder and hat, as if we are allowed to look upon the source of his heartbreak without trespassing , without witnessing any private emotion his face might show. When Buster turns out of the frame pulling the photo with him, we are left with the backdrop of lapping water. Keaton has rarely left a shot "hanging" after his h~ro exits; this is another impressionistic image of the water (a significant element in this film), which visually translates Buster's feelings for us. We imagine the sound of water as his softly breaking heart, the feel of water as his tears. The shot is briefly lonely and very much Buster at this moment. However, as early as One Week, Keaton usually intends for Buster's emotional arsenal to explode only so far before it is blocked by his stone face. While his rejection drives him to uproot his life, he probably senses (in another profound equation) that rejection = freedom; therefore, sailing past...