I respect Altman. His movies are definitely mainstream, yet he incorporates unorthodox techniques, which may or may not be accepted by the scrutinizing public. It's refreshing to see craftsmanship go into films that are, well, popular, or at least were at the time. As we learned more about his style, I gained more respect for his nonchalant directing style. The fact that he encourages his actors to improvise and not feel restrained by the script. This gave his movies that much more of a realistic feel without being removed from watching a film. Maybe I admire a man who takes control by leaving room for interpretation. Regardless of what it is that specifically draws me to Altman, I cannot help but appreciate The Long Goodbye. Yes, the plot is intriguing. Yes, Elliott Gould is awesome. But I think I could grasp the dreamy, spacey feel Altman was going for, especially with the color scheme. Marlowe helped establish a very mellow mood as well; his random mutterings under his breath were comfortable and just a product of his personality. One scene that stood out was when Marlowe went to pick up the Courry Brand cat food and he has the conversation with the clerk.
Marlowe: Excuse me, I don't see any Courry Brand cat food here.
Clerk: Some what?
Marlowe: Some Courry Brand cat...
Clerk: Could you spell that?
Marlowe: Courry Brand, C-O-U-R-R...
Clerk: Oh, we're all out of
that. Why don't you get this. All this shit is the same anyways.
Marlowe: You don't happen to have a cat by any chance?
Clerk: What do I need a cat
for, I've got a girl.
Marlowe: Ha, ha. He's got a girl, I got a cat.
Pretty much anything you want to know about Marlowe is presented here: his cat, his loneliness, his wit, his out-of-place social interactions. This is in part done by Gould, but at least Altman recognized the potential for character development and seized it. Altman was definitely keen on the human narrative. He wanted to tell stories without the pretentious undertones of filmmaking. Rest in peace ol' chap.
4 comments:
Marlowe is a great character, I love the way that the opening scene does nothing to contribute to the plot but defines the character of Marlowe using small dialog that is so typical to Altman.
I also admire a man who "takes control by leaving room for interpretation". I thought it was really cool that he trusted his actors enough to improvise it gave them room to be who they wanted to be in his sweet movies.
My blog post went in the exact opposite direction of yours. I liked his unique style and loved The Long Goodbye because of it, but he became known for his strange war of directing early in his career and seemed to stop growing or experimenting. I respect him a great deal more than many directors, but he never left that comfort zone. Hitchcock played with the camera in Vertigo and Rope; Kurasawa experimented with editing in Yojimbo and Stray Dog. Robert Altman may have gone outside of the mainstream film-industry, but then he just stood around.
Word. I commented briefly on Marlowe's relationship with is cat. I like the excerpt of dialogue. It is very reflective of his general manner of speaking and unnatural interaction with folk. His seems to be at odds with his environment.
Post a Comment