Chalamet Is BIG Back š
Plus, 70s Elliott Gould and DDL also returns.
Hey film folk ā
Thereās a new movie sweeping the (highbrow film-going/horror-loving) nation, and itās called Weapons. For those of you looking for a review of that film, you have come to the wrong place as I do not enjoy the thrill of being frightened, scared, or horrified during any kind of cinematic experience (well, that last scene in Nosferatu was an exception because, well, #art). Some are hailing Weapons director Zach Cregger (more on him below) as the next M. Night Shyamalan, which is interesting as heās another director whose movies I do not flock toward (although, I am kind of into The Village). And before you even ask, no ā the person writing this newsletter has never seen The Sixth Sense. There isnāt a twist or anything, right?
Cheers, MB
In this weekās issue:
š Ping-pong Chalamet has entered the chat
š° A new member of the $20-million directorās club
š¬ The hazy hang of The Long Goodbye
ā Modern LA noir, and so much more
The Weekend Take: Aug 15-17 š°
What an absolutely unhinged top 10 grossing movies from this past weekend, which at $88 million total is the lowest domestic take since mid-May. But hey, at least Weapons looks like it could cross the holy $100 million domestic mark, soā¦ thatās something?
But First, the News šļø
ā¢ Marty Supreme has a trailer (and reportedly 140 characters). While TimothĆ©e Chalamet is actively getting his worm-son on somewhere on Arakis, the first trailer for his new 1950s ping-pong film, Marty Supreme, was released. On top of that, the director Josh Safdie revealed that there are 140 characters in this movie. I am psyched.
ā¢ A Resident Evil reboot from one of todayās most in-demand freaks? Thatāll be $20 million, please. Get ready to see a lot more of that guy, Zach Cregger. After the success of his first two films, the $4-million Barbarian and then $40-million Weapons, Creggerās next movie will be a new take on Resident Evil, the film franchise that not-so-recently starred Milla Jovovich. And for that, heāll join the likes of Scorsese, Nolan, Tarantino, and Cameron in the $20-million club. Not bad for a former member of The Whitest Kids U' Know.
ā¢ Baz Luhrman is back doing very Baz Luhrmann-y things. And by that, I mean heās making a Joan of Arc movie, apparently with Schindlerās List scribe Tom Keneally working on the script with him. No further comment at this time.
ā¢ Daniel Day-Lewis might just be the father of the year. The man who is arguably the greatest living film actor is coming out of retirement for his first role since that one movie where his wife fed him poisonous fungus and he learned to sew really well. In a film they co-wrote together, DDL is starring in his son Ronanās first feature, Anemone, and while we donāt yet have a trailer, we do have this incredible photo to hold us over.
ā¢ In other, slightly less interesting āheās back!ā news. Jack Sparrow may also be returning. And yes, he will most likely be played by Johnny Depp. This isnāt 100% confirmed, but as he continues to rebuild his career, it seems like only a matter of time until super producer Jerry Bruckheimer makes the call and gets the most important part of one of the all-time biggest movie franchises back on the olā Black Pearl ā for better, but probably worse.
A Way-Too-Short Review: The Long Goodbye š
Thereās a scene in the final Harry Potter film, 2011ās Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, where Harry meets Dumbledore in limbo, which in this case looks like Londonās Kingās Cross Station, and Harry asks the old wizard if their whole encounter is real or if itās happening in his head. In response, Dumbledore says, āOf course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?ā Besides being one of the all-time great quotes about storytelling, it also, in a way, perfectly explains Robert Altmanās 1973 noir classic, The Long Goodbye.
You see, The Long Goodbye, which stars Elliott Gould as private investigator Phillip Marlowe, seemingly feels like a dream, one potentially imagined by an over-worked, chain-smoking, poorly-fed, heavy-drinking LA man about town. So, basically Marlowe himself. At various points, Gouldās protagonist goes shopping for cat food at 3:00 am, exchanges pleasantries with his mostly-nude female neighbors who spend most of their days doing yoga and just being naked, embarks on a semi-hallucinogenic quest to Malibu that turns into an Aquavit-drinking contest, and gets held up by a bunch of gangsters, one of whom is played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in only his second movie role.
It took me three attempts to sit down and actually watch this movie because, like so many films from this time, itās quite slow, especially at the start. Marlowe moves slowly, people speak slowly, the cat meanders around the kitchen slowly. But once you accept some of the peculiar realities of this version of LA during this strange time in its history, every scene is more engrossing than the next. And while itās quite an adjustment to see Gould as a borderline sex symbol, especially when Iām most used to him crushing it as Reuben in the Oceanās movies (or, yes, as Mr. Green on Friends), there was a time when he was just that: an adored leading man who paved the way for everyone from Tom Hanks to Jason Segel in all of his gangly, scruffy, and slightly eschew glory.
While The Long Goodbye completely flopped when it was originally released, itās become one of the most influential films of its time (as youāll see below), and while itās simultaneously about both nothing and so much, dipping in and out of the realm of possibility with each scene as Gouldās recall and memory become increasingly unreliable, itās simply a great piece of cinema. Itās intoxicating and charming and batsh*t and doesnāt really answer any of its own questions, but honestly, why on earth should we hold any of that against it? Instead, letās say what Marlowe himself would say in this case. Hey, thatās okay with me.
The TL;DR
Rating: šæšæšæšæšæšæšæšæšæ
What is The Long Goodbye? A meandering dream that you wonāt want to end. Also, just a hell of a performance by one of the worldās great Elliotts.
Should you make time for this movie? Yes, there were some stops and starts with watching this one, but by the end, I wondered if The Long Goodbye was now one of my 10 favorite films. Iām going with a soft yes.
Did it win any Oscars? Not even a single nomination. However, this movie also bombed and wouldāve been up against The Exorcist, American Graffiti, Serpico, and The Sting, just to name a few of the other big hitters from that year.
What will you remember most from this film? How sly Gould is, or how mysterious LA appears, or how stunning Nina van Pallandt was, or the cat. Probably the cat.
Five Movies to Watch If You Also Like The Long Goodbye š
Chinatown (1974)
Man, you ever seen Chinatown? Itās got the water and the Nicholson and the weird John Huston stuff and the whole, wait, who directed this again? Hm, well, leaving that where it lies. While Chinatown might be one of the slowest burns of all time, itās also one of the most beautifully shot and often imitated movies of the past half century. And while it only came out a year after The Long Goodbye, these two LA noir masterpieces are in clear conversation with one another, with one sun bleached by the light of day and the other existing almost solely in the moonlight, but each clouded by the final drag of a cigarette at every turn. Or, you know, something like that.
After Hours (1985)
Very few movies depict the illogical wanderings of staying up way too late for no good reason at all better than The Long Goodbye, but Scorseseās 1985 cult classic After Hours may just have it beat. Both of these films focus on a schmo put into incredible circumstances when he really shouldāve just gone to bed. But instead, both Phillip Marlowe and Paul Hackett have to wander the streets in total darkness, looking for the answers to some of lifeās strangest problems.
Inherent Vice (2014)
If youāre looking for another methodical LA noir focused on a disheveled private eye, may I suggest Inherent Vice? Yes, the protagonist is a bit more stoned and somehow even less dependable as a POV character, but Joaquin Phoenixās Doc Sportello is one of the most comically astute things to happen to detective stories since they named Inspector Gadgetās dog, Brain. He falls, puffs, mildly succeeds, and gets ripped in half more times than you can count, all the while traversing the Venice underworld filled with the likes of Josh Brolin, who is throwing 100 mph in every scene, and Katherine Waterston, who I meanā¦ What was I saying? If youāre like me, you might not really have gelled with PTAās 2014 Pynchon adaptation the first time you saw it. But if youāre also like me, then you were clearly wrong.
The Nice Guys (2016)
With all due respect to the other four films featured here, The Nice Guys is my favorite. Famously (to me at least), this 2016 70s LA buddy cop pseudo-noir starring Ryan Gosling and Russel Crowe opened the same weekend as The Angry Birds movie, getting crushed in the process and depriving us of what wouldāve been a fantastic film franchise. So instead, weāll just have the one perfect Shane Black-penned and directed film that delivered so many memes and taught us to be more concise when describing the crowds at parties. I really love this movie.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywoodā¦ (2019)
And with all due respect to The Nice Guys, the single best 10 minutes of any of these five films belongs to the last sequence in Quentin Tarantinoās Once Upon a Time in Hollywoodā¦ In a movie filled with so much beauty and emotional depth (and feet, of course), the attempted murders at the hands of the Manson kids, portrayed by Austin Butler, Mikey Madison, and Madisen Beaty, all while Brad Pitt trips his face off on acid and Leonardo DiCaprio gets blitzed in his pool on homemade margaritas before pulling out a flamethrowerā¦ It's just magnificent. While The Long Goodbye might lack the scale and intensity of some sections of QTās most recent film, I do think both Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth would be big fans of Phillip Marloweās, uh, unique living arrangements.
What the F*ck Is This Movie? š¶ļø
Under the Silver Lake (2018)
I have surprisingly not seen this movie, even though I like both Andrew Garfield and Riley Keough, and probably wouldāve lived in Silver Lake had I ever done an LA stint during the 2010s (Angelenos, feel free to @ me). But hey, thereās still time right? For the movie, not the lifestyle change. Anyway, to the AI description we go:
Sam is a disenchanted 33-year-old who discovers a mysterious woman, Sarah, frolicking in his apartment's swimming pool. When she vanishes, Sam embarks on a surreal quest across Los Angeles to decode the secret behind her disappearance, leading him into the murkiest depths of mystery, scandal, and conspiracy in the City of Angels.
Everything about this (yes, even the Garfield-for-Gould swap) is Long Goodbye coded and you know what? Thatās okay with me.
Seen anything good lately (other than Under the Silver Lake)? Would you describe Inherent Vice as āgood badā or ābad goodā? Does QT have the best eye for talentā¦ ever? Let me know by responding to this email.