Runtime: 105 minutes
Directed by: Arthur Penn
Starring: Gene Hackman, Jennifer Warren, Edward Binns, Harris Yulin, Melanie Griffith
From: Warner Bros.
Last month I discovered this neo-noir (which I've known of for years) was and still is available for cheap rental on Amazon and the window to start streaming was about to close so that was last night's entertainment. It was just a coincidence that I chose a film where some elements were taken from The Stunt Man novel (because director Arthur Penn was an early candidate to direct the movie version) and it wasn't until after viewing did I hear the news that the actual director of The Stunt Man-Richard Rush-had passed away.
Even by 70's movie standards, this was quite downbeat. Gene Hackman played a football player turned private investigator who is asked by an old ex-actress to find her runaway 16 year old daughter “Delly” (Melanie Griffith!); it was a rather unglamorous look at the profession. After all, his wife cheats on him because she has grown tired of his nomad lifestyle, nevermind all the harsh realities he experiences on the case. Part of his time is spent in the Florida Keys although he meets sketchy and aimless characters seemingly everywhere he went. Furthermore, Delly is the kind of girl who likely has spent time in the backseat of a '60 Chevy; she's a promiscuous rebel who has the awkward teenage blues.
It is a laid back movie which is methodically paced; I realize some think of it was “boring” but I was always enraptured by this world. Time is spent showing these flawed, sometimes broken characters interacting with each other. Of course, nice cinematography, a boss jazzy soundtrack and a bevy of memorable performances anchored around the great Hackman are big assets in the film's favor. Besides Griffith, this was also an early role for James Woods; no matter his behavior on Twitter he did a nice job even in the first stages of his career. There are a few moments that at least made me chuckle; that was a nice reprieve from a serious motion picture which contained several devastating moments, especially the end. Those that enjoy the neo-noirs from the 70's, detective films from the same time period and/or just like the pessimistic, gloomy movies of this era... it should be high in your queue.
By the way, in the movie Griffith appears nude more than once; I have seen differing opinion on what her age was when those moments were filmed. You see, much of Night Moves was done in 1973, but other material-including apparently her in the buff-was done in '75, right after she turned 18. For my sake at least, I hope she was of legal age!
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