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| The Long Goodbye |
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| Originally released: 1973 |
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Another farewell to a genre from Altman – as brilliant, infuriating,
and iconoclastic as anything in his filmography. Gould is wilfully
perverse casting as Philip Marlowe, plonked down in a 1970s setting
where he seems more anachronistic than ever. This is the point, and one
that the director sets up with an inspired first ten minutes in which he
unsuccessfully attempts to feed his cat. Though Gould's sotte voce
musings are inflected by the usual Altman archness, his louche,
shambling performance is otherwise perfect for this demolition job,
which dismantles Chandler's novel, Marlowe's world-view, the
cultural values of 1970s California, and everything else going. It
leaves nothing in their place.
Tim Robey
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