In many classic Noirs, the convoluted plot keeps the detective hero in a reactive state, never really knowing what's going on until it's too late. In later Noir films, that convention is sometimes made overt. The Big Lebowski is a comedic example. I dare say Night Moves is a more dramatic one. Gene Hackman is an essentially blind detective, always caught flat-footed even though he thinks he's on top of things. That's as true in his turbulent marriage as it is in a more complicated case than he expected, tracking down a teenage girl who's run away from her home in the Hollywood Hills. Questions and answers are part of a private eye's life, but there are few questions for which everyone has an answer, or a truthful answer at least. Ironically, Hackman's character is a student of chess and is particularly intrigued by how someone might fail to foresee their opponent's tactics (be careful of those "knight moves"). And we're with him, frankly, also thinking we know where it's going and generally failing to predict the film's next move. That said, can someone explain to me why 1970s cinema is so interested in older men having sex with underage girls? Writers and directors who saw Lolita at an impressionable age? In this case it's Melanie Griffith in one of her earliest roles, but it doesn't matter that she's 18 in real life, it's still ick.
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Comments 1 - 5 of 5
mbkeene
Now that's how you do neo-noir.jgarate
Very good.Siskoid
In many classic Noirs, the convoluted plot keeps the detective hero in a reactive state, never really knowing what's going on until it's too late. In later Noir films, that convention is sometimes made overt. The Big Lebowski is a comedic example. I dare say Night Moves is a more dramatic one. Gene Hackman is an essentially blind detective, always caught flat-footed even though he thinks he's on top of things. That's as true in his turbulent marriage as it is in a more complicated case than he expected, tracking down a teenage girl who's run away from her home in the Hollywood Hills. Questions and answers are part of a private eye's life, but there are few questions for which everyone has an answer, or a truthful answer at least. Ironically, Hackman's character is a student of chess and is particularly intrigued by how someone might fail to foresee their opponent's tactics (be careful of those "knight moves"). And we're with him, frankly, also thinking we know where it's going and generally failing to predict the film's next move. That said, can someone explain to me why 1970s cinema is so interested in older men having sex with underage girls? Writers and directors who saw Lolita at an impressionable age? In this case it's Melanie Griffith in one of her earliest roles, but it doesn't matter that she's 18 in real life, it's still ick.Moseby
One of the bleakest of them all. You almost feel sorry for each character in this movie.I simply adore it. How can't I? I'm in it!..
Killer quote:
-Who's winning?
-Nobody. One side is just losing slower than the other.
george4mon
i found it very disappointing :(