63

I doubt I'll read a better quote today:

"On the bright side, if President Bush's amnesty proposal for illegal immigrants ends up hurting Republicans and we lose Congress this November, maybe the Democrats will impeach him and we'll get Cheney as president. "

-Ann Coulter (who else)

62

Sorry about the slowness of updates. Summer school has really been eating up most of my energy, and I hate it.

After six years of attempts, I have finally gotten a letter answered by Roger Ebert on his website. Check it out here, the last question on the page. The original letter was a good deal longer, but he captured the essence of it. I was also glad to see he agreed with me, even though I knew he would.

61 - The Long Goodbye review

The first film featuring private eye Philip Marlowe was The Big Sleep. Humphrey Bogart, the greatest of film noir heroes, played Marlowe, the hardboiled but secretly chivalrous hero. The famously convoluted and nonsensical labyrinthine plot was a moot point, functioning as an excuse to allow the wonderful actors the chance to recite fabulously clever and provocative dialogue (written by Leigh Brackett and Mississippi’s own William Faulkner). Shot in the beautiful lack of color that lends so much crisp atmosphere to film noirs, Bogart’s brilliant performance was enhanced by those of the supporting characters; glum cops, vile gangsters, and oh so many gorgeous femme fatales. Truly, one of the more enjoyable worlds ever put to film.

My second Marlowe film experience was Robert Atlman’s The Long Goodbye. Thinking of the two together brings images of apples and oranges to mind. Marlowe may be there, but instead of Bogart, he is played Elliot Gould, no small difference in lead actors.

There’s much more. While The Big Sleep’s Marlowe was tough, cynical, and clever, The Long Goodbye’s Marlowe would be better described as an aloof, pessimistic smartass. Where Bogart’s version was right at home in the black and white 1940’s, Gould’s finds himself to be painfully out of place in the perpetual cloud of pot smoke that comprised the early 1970’s. Even the picture changes, trading in black and white for Technicolor.

Like The Big Sleep, the plot makes little sense, but this time the lack of clarity plays a role in the character development. No matter where Marlowe goes, he sticks out like a sore thumb; chain smoking and wearing a cheap suit, each person he encounters seems to know something he doesn’t, be it important to the mystery at hand or not.

The story involves the murdered wife of a friend, a drunken writer(Sterlying Hayden), his beautiful wife(Nina Van Pallandt) a shady rehab clinic, and a particularly nasty gangster(Mark Rydell), but Altman approaches events leisurely, a good reflection of Marlowe’s easy, bemused sarcasm. Notice how Marlowe spends a day with a suspect’s wife, only to casually ask if her husband committed the murder as soon as he finishes dinner. Nearly everyone Marlow speaks to ends up shooting him an incredulous look, as if wondering what time warp he came through. The joke’s on them, since Marlow wonders the same thing.

Also note the scenes involving his neighbors, a group of hippie women that tend practice topless yoga just outside his window. The scenes are quick, but important, as his complete lack of lecherousness goes miles to show that he isn’t just confused by his surroundings, but a product of a different time. Like the Marlowe’s of old, he doesn’t lust after naïve young women, nor does he care for money. His interest lies within honor, trust, and doing the right thing, whether or not it benefits himself. Marlowe’s violent act at the climax is shocking and almost contradictory towards his behavior throughout the film, but make perfect sense. After being jerked around by everyone in his rotten world, his patience runs out.

The Long Goodbye is a great postmodern film noir, with little to offer those without an interest in the genre. Some scenes are funny, some interesting, but all are steeped in a context that those not familiar with both film noir and the time period will likely find dull. After the credits began to role, I asked my girlfriend, no artistic slouch, what she thought. "It was really boring," she said, it having been the first serious film noir she ever saw. Luckily for me, I have seen a lot of film noir, and The Long Goodbye ranks as one of the smartest, entertaining ones to date.

4.5 out of 5


Note: Isn't that just one of the weirdest movie posters you've ever seen? I think so.