A Face in the Crowd is ultimately a movie about con artists. Griffith performs as a character who is himself constantly in a performance mode. His public-facing persona is charming, kind, and as approachable as ever. The strength of the performance comes from the dichotomy between that mask of Rhodes and the real man you see behind closed doors. It is a performance that should make us all rethink how we approach the adoration of public figures. In an age of increasing political division, where demagogues fan the flames of a scary culture war, weaponizing a smile or a rageful rant depending on which is most advantageous for the moment, A Face in the Crowd feels like a movie which presciently noted that culture would eventually be dominated by Rhodesian figures.
Even outside the world of politics, online discourse in terms of how we approach media is becoming increasingly infected with uncomfortable, unhealthy engagements with “stan culture.” People obsessively peer into what can be seen of the lives of massively famous singers, actors, etc. and extrapolate from these public personas a version of the celebrity who is idolized.
This idolization will almost always lead to a sense of disappointment or betrayal, because when you do not know someone and you put them up on a pedestal, it is too easy to forget that the person you are worshiping is just that: a person. Some people are bad, some are mean, some are so enamored with their success that they will do anything to stay at the top, forgoing all morals and values. Rhodes was beloved across the nation, but his entire empire was built on lies. Griffith, in this incredible display of acting prowess, greets you with a smile while picking your pocket. The dual nature of this performance brilliantly depicts the artifice behind the image of a celebrity.
A Face in the Crowd is about as overt as a film could be in terms of begging the audience to apply some skepticism and be weary about idolizing people when you fundamentally cannot know their true intentions. Kazan’s movie spotlights a deceptive figure in American media that may have been infrequent at the time of this film, but in the information age there are Lonesome Rhodes-types all over the place. Few are as charming as Andy Griffith, but they are as dangerous as his character when their influence goes unchecked. As much as A Face in the Crowd is a cautionary tale about the personal destruction that often follows a meteoric rise to stardom, it is also a desperate plea for the audience at home to not fall for the grift.
