What: The Long Goodbye
When: June 18–19, 2009
Where: on my couch
Why: I read an AV Club article about The Big Lebowski and it touched on the influence of this film (and the Chandler novel). As a fan, I felt I owed it to myself to check it out.
While this wasn’t nearly as enjoyable for me as the aforementioned Lebowski, I liked it well enough and can certainly see the huge influence it had on the Coens. Elliott Gould, never removed from his tailored suits and cigarettes, is the polar opposite of The Dude except in one key way: mysteries and the shady characters who inhabit them tend to find him. In a world of utter craziness and morally ambiguous, self-interested parties, both The Dude and Marlowe have one—well, two—things in mind. Setting the record straight, and getting their precious belongings back.
For The Dude of course this is the rug that tied the room together. For Marlowe, it’s his cat. Gould brings a wonderful lackadaisical quality to the role, and I loved the ambling approach to L.A., a city where everyone seems to be a lot more revved up than he is.
