RARA-AVIS: Re: Marlowe at the Movies

From: jacquesdebierue ( jacquesdebierue@yahoo.com)
Date: 08 Dec 2007


I haven't seen _Farewell My Lovely_ in quite a long time, but my impression was very favorable the two times I did see it. Mitchum provides solidity within a plot that is not distinguished (the novel is not a marvel of plot). And the English actress Charlotte Rampling is wonderful. If this actress has ever been less than stellar, I have missed it.

Sometimes I think it would be better to film some of the great Chandler short stories, like Bay City Blues, rather than the patchwork novels that Chandler put together from them.

In any case, I think the time for making Chandler movies which preserve the verbosity of the novels is past. You would only succeed in making a period piece or a piece of pastiche. The main strength of Chandler the author is words, but his second strength is place, atmosphere, and his third strength is humor, and his fourth strength is well-timed explosive action -- which is far more compact and effective in the short stories.

Anyway, I realize I'm rambling.

Best,

mrt

 



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