David Hemmings looks like a mix between Bud Cort in HAROLD AND MAUDE and MALCOLM MCDOWELL in IF… and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. He acts like Roman Polanski’s character in THE TENANT. What I’m trying to get at is he is a unique looking guy whose character, Thomas, acts like a total creep. He’s like a creepier version of his character from DEEP RED. I was shocked when he was forcing the woman to take off her clothes as well as trading sex for photoshoots not only because of how we look at these moments through 2021 eyes, but because I honestly thought Thomas was gay. This may be the usual problem of trying to figure out if someone is gay or just really British. This film is also so British in its cadence, rhythm, themes, and style. It’s up there with THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP or THE ITALIAN JOB for the most British movie.
Everything in here makes it seem like this going to be a really interesting murder mystery film. Instead the film does a very strange, almost experimental, thing. It feels like something that would happen in a Brunel or Lynch film or something from the French New Wave. The story just ends. It doesn’t come to any sort of conclusion and Thomas is left to ponder what that means. I never expected this to pivot in this direction. While I like the moments with the mimes, I felt like it didn’t connect well with the rest of the film.
It also sets up a paranoia that we would eventually see in future political thrillers like THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, JFK, the films of Alan J. Pakula, and even films directly referencing the premise like THE CONVERSATION or BLOW OUT. Incidentally, I really believe Coppola and de Palma really elevated the ideas and concept in such a great way that they stand even greater than this film. Herbie Hancock’s score is so fun and fits the film immensely well. I never knew this was the originator of the photographer yelling at the model trope that was really aped in a lot of comedies. For that matter, it is clear there is a lot of inspiration for Austin Powers in this from the music to the Thomas as a character. I’d bet that Jay Roach or Mike Myers was inspired to use this as one of the many references in that film series.
