Little Murders (Alan Arkin, US, 1971)
I've watched Little Murders three times now in the past 30 days. It's rare that a movie speaks to me so clearly - this is a film that seems tailor-made to appeal to my personality. It's the kind of film that can be viewed this often without becoming repetitive or tiring, because each time you watch it, there's something new to enjoy. Maybe I've just fallen in love with a work of art (again). That never works out well.
I don't know how this film was made, or how it escaped my radar for the first twenty-five years of my life. I don't know why Alan Arkin has directed so few films. I don't know why Jules Feiffer wrote two movies in 1971 and then more or less stopped writing screenplays (apart from a few oddities).
I do know that Elliott Gould is at the peak of his powers here. My New Years resolution is to see as many Elliott Gould films as I possibly can in 2005. Granted, most of his work since the mid-70's has been harmless and/or irrelevant. But in the early 70's he was pure magic, and Little Murders shows it well. I made a little laminated card containing his filmography, which I keep in my wallet. Now I am always prepared in case I run across a pile of old VHS tapes somewhere.
This film switches gears so frequently that it becomes maddening. It begins as an off-beat love story, and then moves through absurd comedy and tragedy simultaneously before descending into an ending that would make Bunuel proud. "Normal" people may be put off by the film's refusal to take itself seriously, though this isn't a film about normal people.
Feiffer's script makes nihilism playful, but there's a depth to the story that transcends it's absurdity. As the title would suggest, this is a film about death, and the ways in which pepole deal with tragedy. But for a film that is structured around emotions, it avoids heavy-handedness, going for the blackest of comedy when it seems least appropriate. The humour, especially at these poignant moments, is carried on today by Wes Anderson (whose work always reminded me of Harold and Maude, but perhaps this was another big influence).
I'll probably watch this again very soon - the DVD comes with a commentary track by Elliott Gould and Jules Feiffer that I haven't listened to yet. Maybe this will be the sort of film that I forget about (like everyone else apparently did), but for the moment, it's my favorite film in the world.
| Little Murders at Amazon |
