I sense a theme
Jul. 14th, 2008 10:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yendiFor the second time in a week, I enjoyed real butter on popcorn while watching a flawed film.
This time, I was at The Brattle on Saturday, catching the latest (free) Elements of Film choice, Gun Crazy (aka Deadly is the Female), a ludicrously miscast film which makes up for its shortcomings with two great extended shots and some nice work by director John Lewis.
John Dall is MST3K-level awful attempting to portray the conflicted and insanely naive Bart, a man who loves guns but hates killing. Peggy Cummins is not much better off as circus gun act Laurie, who has no qualms about killing, but who wants (occasionally) to be good for Bart.
But the movie overcomes the acting, providing some nice sexual tension (especially for its time), and some amazing shots.
The winner, by far, is the single shot from the backseat that covers the drive to, commission of, and getaway from a bank robbery. It's just gorgeous. I can't find it on Youtube, alas, but it's worth renting the movie just to watch. Really.
The movie as a whole offers a lot, including tons of moments that laid the groundwork for films like Bonnie and Clyde, and the supporting cast is generally pretty solid. It's a B-movie all the way, but a fun ninety minutes, with enough good action and drama (including a surprisingly solid ending) to entertain, and enough B-moments to make group commentary worthwhile.
This time, I was at The Brattle on Saturday, catching the latest (free) Elements of Film choice, Gun Crazy (aka Deadly is the Female), a ludicrously miscast film which makes up for its shortcomings with two great extended shots and some nice work by director John Lewis.
John Dall is MST3K-level awful attempting to portray the conflicted and insanely naive Bart, a man who loves guns but hates killing. Peggy Cummins is not much better off as circus gun act Laurie, who has no qualms about killing, but who wants (occasionally) to be good for Bart.
But the movie overcomes the acting, providing some nice sexual tension (especially for its time), and some amazing shots.
The winner, by far, is the single shot from the backseat that covers the drive to, commission of, and getaway from a bank robbery. It's just gorgeous. I can't find it on Youtube, alas, but it's worth renting the movie just to watch. Really.
The movie as a whole offers a lot, including tons of moments that laid the groundwork for films like Bonnie and Clyde, and the supporting cast is generally pretty solid. It's a B-movie all the way, but a fun ninety minutes, with enough good action and drama (including a surprisingly solid ending) to entertain, and enough B-moments to make group commentary worthwhile.