Category Archives: Drama

Forget it, Jake: RIP Robert Towne

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on July 2, 2024)

https://digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/robert-towne-personal-best.avif

You know what they say: “They always come in threes.”

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for film buffs who grew up in the “New Hollywood” era. First, Donald Sutherland. Then Martin Mull. And now, as I’m just learning this evening:

The gift of his words, indeed. Although, it’s possible that his true gift was gleaning exactly what was better left unsaid. As he once observed: “Good dialogue illuminates what people are not saying.” Quality, not quantity.

A quick refresh on his credits reveals an impressive number of films of note on which he was “uncredited” for his contributions (Drive, He Said, Cisco Pike, The Godfather, The Parallax View, The Missouri Breaks, Marathon Man, et. al.) much less the classics that he is most well-known for.

It’s difficult for me to come up with adequate words to honor such a wordsmith, so I think I’ll follow his sage advice by not getting too flowery. Here are my top recommendations:

https://i0.wp.com/digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Last-Detail-Diner.png?w=853&quality=80&ssl=1

The Last Detail – Hal Ashby’s 1973 comedy-drama set the bar pretty high for all “buddy films” to follow (and to this day, few can touch it). Jack Nicholson heads a superb cast, as “Bad-Ass” Buddusky, a career Navy man who is assigned (along with a fellow Shore Patrol officer, played by Otis Young) to escort a first-time offender (Randy Quaid) to the brig in Portsmouth. Chagrined to learn that the hapless young swabbie has been handed an overly-harsh sentence for a relatively petty crime, Buddusky decides that they should at least show “the kid” a good time on his way to the clink (much to his fellow SP’s consternation). Episodic “road movie” misadventures ensue.

Don’t expect a Hollywood-style “wacky” comedy; as he did in all of his films, Ashby keeps it real. The suitably briny dialog was adapted by Robert Towne from Daryl Ponicsan’s novel; and affords Nicholson some of his most iconic line readings (“I AM the motherfucking shore patrol, motherfucker!”). Nicholson and Towne were teamed up again the following year via Roman Polanski’s Chinatown.

https://i0.wp.com/digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chinatown-behind-the-scenes-stories.jpg?resize=1536%2C922&quality=89&ssl=1

Chinatown – There are many Deep Thoughts that I have gleaned over the years via repeated viewings of Roman Polanski’s 1974 “sunshine noir”.

Here are my top 3:

1. Either you bring the water to L.A. or you bring L.A. to the water.

2. Politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable if they  last long enough.

3. You may think you know what you’re dealing with, but, believe me, you don’t.

Of course, I’ve also learned that if you put together a great director (Polanski), a killer screenplay (by Robert Towne), two lead actors at the top of their game (Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway), an ace cinematographer (John A. Alonzo) and top it off with a perfect music score (by Jerry Goldsmith), you’ll likely produce a film that deserves to be called a “classic”, in every sense of the word.

https://i0.wp.com/digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/The-Parallax-View-0b.jpg?w=1280&quality=89&ssl=1

The Parallax View – Alan J. Pakula’s 1974 “conspiracy a-go-go” thriller stars Warren Beatty, who delivers an excellent performance as a maverick print journalist investigating a suspicious string of untimely demises that befall witnesses to a U.S. senator’s assassination in a restaurant atop the Space Needle. This puts him on a trail that leads to an enigmatic agency called the Parallax Corporation.

The supporting cast includes Hume Cronyn, William Daniels and Paula Prentiss. Nice work by cinematographer Gordon Willis (aka “the prince of darkness”), who sustains the foreboding, claustrophobic mood of the piece with his masterful use of light and shadow.

The screenplay is by David Giler and Lorenzo Semple Jr. (based on the 1970 novel by Loren Singer, with a non-credited rewrite by Robert Towne). The narrative contains obvious allusions to the JFK assassination, and (in retrospect) reflects the political paranoia of the Nixon era (perhaps this was serendipity, as the full implications of the Watergate scandal were not yet in the rear view mirror while the film was in production).

https://i0.wp.com/digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/p1903_i_h10_ab.jpg?w=1100&quality=89&ssl=1

The Yakuza – Robert Mitchum and Ken Takakura are excellent in this complex culture clash/gangster drama. DIrector Sidney Pollack had major writing talent on board-Robert Towne and Paul Schrader (who scripted from a story idea by Schrader’s brother Leonard).

https://i0.wp.com/digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Goldie-Hawn_Julie-Christie_Tony-BIll_Warren-Beatty.jpg?w=1087&quality=89&ssl=1

Shampoo – Sex, politics, and the shallow SoCal lifestyle are mercilessly skewered in Hal Ashby’s classic 1975 satire. Warren Beatty (who co-scripted with Robert Towne) plays a restless, over-sexed hairdresser with commitment issues regarding the three major women in his life (excellent performances from Lee Grant, Goldie Hawn and Julie Christie).

Beatty allegedly based his character of “George” on his close friend, celebrity hairdresser Jay Sebring (one of the victims of the infamous 1969 Tate-LaBianca slayings).

This was one of the first films to satirize the 1960s zeitgeist with some degree of historical detachment. The late great cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs infuses the L.A. backdrop with a gauziness that appropriately mirrors the protagonist’s fuzzy way of dealing with adult responsibilities.

https://i0.wp.com/digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/personal-best.webp?w=590&quality=80&ssl=1

Personal Best – When this film was released, there was so much ado over brief love scenes between Mariel Hemingway and co-star Patrice Donnelly that many failed to notice that it was one of the most realistic, empowering portrayals of female athletes to date. Writer-director Robert Towne did his homework; he spent time observing Olympic track stars at work and play. The women are shown to be just as tough and competitive as their male counterparts; Hemingway and (real-life pentathlete) Donnelly give fearless performances. Scott Glenn is excellent as a hard-driving coach.

https://i0.wp.com/digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/tough-guys-dont-dance.jpg?w=1440&quality=89&ssl=1

Tough Guys Don’t Dance – If “offbeat noir” is your thing, this is your kind of film. Ryan O’Neal plays an inscrutable ex-con with a conniving “black widow” of a wife, who experiences five “really bad days” in a row, involving drugs, blackmail and murder. Due to temporary amnesia, however, he’s not sure of his own complicity (O’Neal begins each day by writing the date on his bathroom mirror with shaving cream-keep in mind, this film precedes Memento by 13 years.)

Noir icon Lawrence Tierny (cast here 5 years before Tarantino tapped him for Reservoir Dogs) is priceless as O’Neal’s estranged father, who is helping him sort out events (it’s worth the price of admission when Tierny barks “I just deep-sixed two heads!”).

Equally notable is a deliciously demented performance by B-movie trouper Wings Hauser as the hilariously named Captain Alvin Luther Regency. Norman Mailer’s “lack” of direction has been duly noted over the years, but his minimalist style works. While he was not credited, Robert Towne contributed to the script. The film has a David Lynch vibe at times (which could be due to the fact that Isabella Rossellini co-stars, and the soundtrack was composed by Lynch stalwart Angelo Badalamenti).

Also recommended:

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (under a pseudonym)

The Two Jakes

The Firm

Tequila Sunrise (also directed)

Without Limits (also directed)

One more thing…

Towne may not have written the entire screenplay, but the scene he contributed to The Godfather is unforgettable and infinitely quotable:

Tribeca 2024: Some Rain Must Fall (**)

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on June 22, 2024)

https://i0.wp.com/digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/full_SOME_RAIN_MUST_FALL-Clean-16x9-02.png?resize=1024%2C576&quality=80&ssl=1

Writer-director Qui Yang’s character study focuses on a middle-class family in crisis. While waiting in a school gym to pick up her daughter, Cai (Yu Aier) is hit by a stray ball. Preoccupied, she reflexively hurls it back in the direction it came from, unintentionally injuring a elderly woman (off-camera). The incident triggers an existential malaise already long-percolating due to her imminent plans to file divorce papers against her husband (who is trying to talk her out of it) and her increasingly strained relationship with her uncommunicative daughter.

A setup very much in the vein of Diary of a Mad Housewife, but unfortunately not in the same league. Overall glacial pacing is not helped by the murky cinematography-which makes it frustratingly difficult to read the actor’s faces (the dialog is minimal; so how can the audience connect with any of the characters when it looks like everything was filmed with a hidden camera?).

Tribeca 2024: The Dog Thief (***)

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on June 22, 2024)

https://i0.wp.com/digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/large_DOG_S_THIEF-Clean-16x9-01.png?w=980&quality=80&ssl=1

The future doesn’t look so bright for orphaned, semi-literate working class teenager Martin (Franklin Aro). Cruelly ridiculed by his bourgeois schoolmates, Martin ekes out a meager living as a shoeshine boy on the streets of La Paz and is only afforded lodging by the good graces of his late mother’s friend, who works as a maid in the spacious home of an ailing widow. Martin’s most loyal shoeshine customer is well-to-do tailor Mr. Novoa (Alfredo Castro). Novoa is an empty-nester who spends his off-hours training and pampering his prized German Shepherd.

One day, Martin has a sudden brainstorm for a get-rich-quick scheme; he will kidnap Mr. Novoa’s dog and then enlist his best bud to “find” it and collect the reward. As Martin ingratiates himself into insular Mr. Novoa’s life (initially as part of the scheme), an unexpected bond develops between the two, greatly complicating Martin’s not so-masterminded caper.

Reminiscent of P. T. Anderson’s Hard Eight, writer-director Vinko Tomičić Salinas’ film makes excellent use of the La Paz locales, rendered in a decidedly neorealist style (not so surprising, given the title’s wordplay on Vittorio De Sica’s neorealist classic Bicycle Thieves). Keep an eye on this filmmaker.

Tribeca 2024: Come Closer (***)

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on June 22, 2024)

https://i0.wp.com/digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/full_COME_CLOSER-Clean-16x9-02.png?resize=1024%2C576&quality=80&ssl=1

Writer-director Tom Nesher’s character study concerns a young woman named Eden (Lia Elalouf) who is besotted by grief over the tragic death of her younger brother. While attending her brother’s funeral, she notices a bereaved young woman (Darya Rosenn) whom she has never met. As Eden and her late brother had few secrets between them, the presence and behavior of this mysterious stranger intrigues her. When Eden’s initial attempt to reach out to the young woman is met by a cold shoulder, her curiosity quickly turns to anger, jealousy, then obsession. Just when you think the story is headed for standard stalker thriller territory, it takes a wholly unexpected turn. A moving and absorbing drama, bolstered by brave and sensitive performances from Elalouf and Rosenn.

Tribeca 2024: Don’t You Let Me Go (***1/2)

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on June 15, 2024)

https://i0.wp.com/digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/large_DON_T_YOU_LET_ME_GO-Clean-16x9-01.png?w=980&quality=80&ssl=1

The protracted opening scene of Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge’s drama (set at a wake) is so drenched in sorrow and raw emotion that it becomes something akin to grief porn. But just as I was beginning to wonder if this was going to be some kind of endurance test, one insular young woman breaks away from the proceedings to catch some air. Her name is Adela, and the recently departed was Elena, her closest friend since childhood. Adela is heading for her car when she espies a bus that seems to have appeared from nowhere. Intrigued, she boards it.

From this point onward, the narrative shifts from temporal to metaphysical concerns-as this is no ordinary bus (thank you driver for getting me here). Abracadabra …Adela has been transported to a weekend summer idyll with Elena and a mutual friend at a beach cottage. Whether this is a sense memory or a wishful conjuring on Adela’s part is not clear (shades of Tarkovsky’s Solaris). What begins as a sobering meditation on grief and loss becomes an uplifting fable about friendship, love, and savoring every morsel of joy that comes your way.

SIFF 2024: The New Boy (**)

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 18, 2024)

https://i0.wp.com/digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NewBoy.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&quality=89&ssl=1

Writer-director Warwick Thornton’s drama stars Cate Blanchett as a nun in the Outback charged with schooling a young, taciturn Aboriginal orphan who may harbor supernatural powers. The story is set in the early 1940s, at a monastery where Aboriginal children are cared for until deemed old enough (16?) to get packed off to earn their own keep. The students are largely portrayed by non-professional actors, lending the film a naturalistic feel. Despite an interesting premise (Western religious dogma vs. Indigenous mysticism) the film gets bogged down by its draggy pacing and an uneven narrative that vacillates somewhere between Peter Weir’s The Last Wave and (thanks to Blanchett’s over-the-top antics) Ken Russell’s The Devils.

SIFF 2024: Solitude (***1/2)

By Dennis Hartley

https://www.siff.net/images/FESTIVAL/2024/Films/Film%20Detail%20Hero%20Sizes/Features/Solitude.jpg

Ah, look at all the lonely people. Ninna Pálmadóttir’s quiet drama concerns an unassuming farmer named Gunnar (Thröstur Leó Gunnarsson) who reluctantly sells his beloved horses and relocates to Reykjavik after getting pushed off his land by a hydroelectric project. He has received a generous settlement, which enables him to offer cash for a condo.

For Gunnar, moving to the city is tantamount to getting drop-kicked into the 21st Century; he is overwhelmed by the stimuli. He strikes up a sweet friendship with a bubbly 10-year-old paperboy named Ari. The boy’s parents are separated. While they try to share equal time with their son, squabbles arise over scheduling conflicts, frequently leaving Ari in the lurch. As a result, Gunnar becomes his de facto babysitter. Gunnar’s naivety eventually leads to a misunderstanding that could have serious consequences for him. A beautifully acted treatise on the singularly destructive power of “assumption”. 

SIFF 2024: The Missing(***)

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 11, 2024)

https://www.siff.net/images/FESTIVAL/2024/Films/Film%20Detail%20Hero%20Sizes/Features/Missing.jpg

Writer-director Carl Joseph Papa uses a combination of rotoscoping and hand-drawn animation for this semi-autobiographical drama (the Philippines’ first animated Oscars submission for Best International Feature). A young gay animator who has been mute since childhood suffers a break from reality after discovering his uncle’s body during a wellness check. As the young man comes to grips with suppressed memories, what ensues is an honest, raw, and emotional look at the effects of childhood trauma.

SIFF 2024: I Told You So (**1/2)

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 11, 2024)

https://www.siff.net/images/FESTIVAL/2024/Films/Film%20Detail%20Hero%20Sizes/Features/ITOLDYOUSO.jpg

Set in Rome during a freakish January heatwave, writer-director Ginevra Elkann’s network narrative (reminiscent of P.T. Anderson’s Magnolia) follows the travails of several characters in crisis: an alcoholic mother who has lost custody of her little girl, a faded 80s porn actress coming to grips with her mortality, a bulimic young woman who provides elder care for a woman with a shopping addiction, and an American ex-pat priest struggling with his junkie past. As the heat rises, so does the angst.  Episodic; despite a fine cast and some nicely played scenes, the narrative threads never quite gelled for me.

SIFF 2024: In Our Day (***)

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 11, 2024)

https://www.siff.net/images/FESTIVAL/2024/Films/Film%20Detail%20Hero%20Sizes/Features/InOurDay.jpg

Look in the dictionary under “quiet observation”, and you’ll find a print of auteur Hong Sang-soo’s character study of two artists (a 40-ish actress and an aging poet), each at a crossroads in their creative journey. Sang-soo’s beautifully constructed narrative chugs along at the speed of life; I understand that this may induce drowsiness with some viewers-but the devil is in the details, and those who pay close attention to them will be richly rewarded.