The opening and closing shots serve as bookends – Scorsese is flying around the office with his trademark active camera
A riff of “Alice” or Wizard of Oz (he’s trying to get home for most of the film), or the book of Job from the Bible—a Kafkaesque (certainly Welles version of The Trial comes to mind) journey that is simultaneously about nothing (there’s no plot outside of trying to get A) laid and B) home), but also about the 80’s yuppie, sin, masculinity and sexual repression
sin, masculinity and sexual repression
Notable for the Michael Ballhaus (another strong collaboration with Scorsese) and Scorsese – famous crane shot of the key floating towards the camera with the jump cuts—a melding of Hitchcock (say from Notorious with the crane shot) and Godardian jump cuts
Scorsese is active- closeups of the phone, it’s not Welles’ The Trial in mise-en-scene with the objects in the frame trapping his protagonist (Griffin Dunne)
Influential to many films including the 2017 film (which I frankly think is superior) Good Time from the Safdie brothers
incredibly rich subtext
the subtext has no end- edvard munch’s “The Scream”
Rosanna Arquette is intoxicating (I mean she inspired multiple rock songs in her honor for a reason)
Haha, I was thinking of the story. There is always somthing blocking the man from going home, similar to the people stuck in the room for inexplicable reason and the dinner repeatedly being interrupted in the Bunuel films.
I just watched it for the first time, reminding me of Viridiana and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.
Sorry, don’t why I typed Viridiana. I wanted to say the Exterminating Angel.
@Chiu- thanks for the comment. Interesting- sort of pairing the 1980s Yuppie with Bunuel’s bourgeoisie
Haha, I was thinking of the story. There is always somthing blocking the man from going home, similar to the people stuck in the room for inexplicable reason and the dinner repeatedly being interrupted in the Bunuel films.