WWTW Book Review: Michael Caine’s ‘The Elephant to Hollywood’

Actor Michael Caine wrote his first autobiography, “What’s It All About?” nearly two decades ago. But while many actors find their workload reduced in their golden years, Caine’s resume just keeps getting better.

That’s more than enough reason to embrace  “The Elephant to Hollywood,” Caine’s second draft of his colorful life story. It’s a charming tale told by an actor you wouldn’t mind getting stuck talking to at a cocktail party.

Caine the author is as convivial as one imagines from his various talk show appearances. He’s a lively tour guide through a remarkable life, one we’ve only seen from our seats in the cinema house.

The autobiography doesn’t settle scores or spread juicy gossip, and Caine name drops like an intern at the US Weekly Christmas party. But Caine’s humble manner, and clear-eyed ability to look back at his artistic growth, combine to make “Elephant” a delicious read.

“The Elephant to Hollywood” stars with Caine’s formative years, a time when his living arrangements in The Elephant and Castle in South London were interrupted by Germany’s war machine. He spent many months afraid and isolated from his family, bombs raining from the sky as the second world war ramped up.

As a teen he decided to pursue an acting career, one way to escape his royal blue collar roots. But his skill set didn’t match his ambitions. He was terrible, to put it kindly, and a series of awkward starts to his career would have chased others from the profession. But he saw acting as a release from his hardscrabble neighborhood, a place he would revisit more than four decades later on the set of “Harry Brown.”

He built his career one precarious step at a time, but a combination of luck and talent led to his first film role of consequence in “Zulu.” But it took a romantic lark named “Alfie” to cement Caine’s star status in both England and America.

At times Caine writes in a stream of conscious blur, his mind racing through favored memories with nary a thought about where the narrative tale will lead next. He might start with an anecdote about his teen years and, a few sentences later, reminisce about a recent film shoot with a very old friend.

Caine has a kind word to say about most of his acting peers, and even when he paints an unflattering picture of a colleague – like his confusion over Joaquin Phoenix’s demeanor – it’s clear there’s little malice in play. He does have cheeky fun recalling how he tweaked “Victory” co-star Sylvester Stallone for his diva-like behavior.

Why should Caine be bitter when his dreams nearly all came true? Even the way he met his future wife, Shakira, reads like the work of a fevered romance novelist. It’s a tale he’s told dozens of times before, including on the chat show circuit. But it’s a story that simply doesn’t grow stale. “Elephant” can be read as a full-throttled tribute to his lovely wife, his life partner and stabilizing force.

It’s hard not to wish Caine shared more about Hollywood, from the quality of his fellow actors through the years to the process by which movies are made today. Is he sour over the rash of reboots and remakes, or does he see it as a natural evolution which still leaves room for films like “The Dark Knight?” He does expound on the societal forces behind “Harry Brown,” a film he swears got misunderstood by journalists eager to peg it as the umpteenth “Death Wish” variant. But the book could have used a more thoughtful presentation on the film world around him.

“The Elephant to Hollywood” should still satisfy fans of the two-time Oscar winner as well as those curious about the soul behind the enormous screen talent.

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