And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Being There!
I heard about this movie largely through it being something of a passion project for Peter Sellers. In addition, it won him critical acclaim and whilst it isn't his final film many people choose that it rather be.
Personally I found this movie a very strange movie, even for the standards of the late 1970s. It may seem improbable in this present age but it wins purely due to Sellers' performance and director Hal Ashby's direction.
Sellers' performance is indeed his finest hour. I certainly believe that this was a part he persued with a passion and it shows in his commitment to it.
Ashby's direction is indeed something else: It has been pointed out that this movie could've been a parable on gullibility but thankfully it didn't go down that path - and I agree the movie is all the better for it.
This movie is a subtle one: it has been billed as a comedy but I don;t think it's meant to be: Sure it's farcical and a Comedy of Errors but I think, at it;s heart, it's something different. It's a deceptive piece, offering one thing but delivering something else that ultimately sticks within the mind of the viewer - indeed that final scene is the clincher, challenging everything the viewer saw beforehand.
And if a movie can do something like that, then it must've done something right
And hey, I'll take subtly over constant explosions any day.
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