Last night I saw – for the first time in many years -- what are very likely the two best films of 1974 (although, I'd need to watch Felini's Amarcord again to make that statement definitive.
Harry and Tonto (Paul Mazursky)
What a lovely, lovely movie. The beauty of Paul Mazursky's brand of humanism is how clear-eyed and unsentimental it is. The filmmaker has great affection for his characters, but he doesn't sugarcoat them or shy away from pinpointing their shortcomings and annoying traits. Even Art Carney's Harry, while utterly decent, can be prickly and judgmental. It shocks me that Carney did not win every award in existence back in 1974 (granted in New York Jack Nicholson's all-time greatest performance -- The Last Detail -- was competition), for the 55-year-old Carney, playing 20 years older, plays with such grace and nuance and imbues his character with the accumulated wisdom of a lifetime's lessons that he doesn't seem to be acting at all. The vignettes with his various children are all splendid and unexpected, as are his encounters on the road. And there is, of course, also the wonderful Tonto. Forget the Godfather 2 boys, any number of actors here were more deserving od Supporting nominations than DeNiro, Gazzo and Strasberg: Josh Mostel, Arthur Hunnicut, Phil Bruns, Chief Dan George, Larry Hagman. And there is also wonderful work from Ellen Burstyn and Melanie Mayron. This is a wry, funny, inventive and compassionate road movie. And Careny's Oscar was one of the best choices the Academy ever made.
10/10
A just-about perfect movie. Every element in the film works beautifully. Robert Towne's screenplay is one of the best mystery scripts ever – besides an ingenious plot and a lot of surprises, it also has a mournful quality regarding corruption and human nature, which were perfect for the mid-1970s but continues to resonate and be relevant today. The acting is simply great – Faye Dunaway is particularly astonishing. Seeing the film again I was amazed at how little screen time John Huston actually has – he is so forceful that my memory had him with quite a substantial role and I had assumed he'd be Oscar-nominated back in '74. It's also one of Nicholson's best performances – he nicely balances his wise guy, befuddled and romantic personae. The production design is absolutely right and Jerry Goldsmith's is one of the great film scores. Roman Polanski's direction is so measured and so in control that there's not a single false moment in the entire picture. Even when you see the picture knowing the big (and indeed shocking) secret. It does not lose its power.
10/10
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
