Lenny - Bob Fosse, 1974Teenage mañana was completely enamored with this film. Just elliptical enough to feel daring without actually shocking my expectations. And moreover, oozing coolness and iconoclasm in a way that all 16 year olds crave. This time around Hoffman is less impressive. I’m not sure if my shifting view of Bruce (I understand his targets were radical at the time, but outside of that context it loses a lot of power) informs my perspective or if the performance is just too mannered for my tastes now. He certainly capture’s Bruce’s force, but there’s a smugness to his crusade, a Baby Boomer self-congratulation, that puts me off. Again, I don’t know if I’m responding to Hoffman, Bruce, or my father’s generation in general. Hard to disaggregate these things, you know? Valerie Perrine on the other hand is a revelation, she breathes so much life into her talking heads. Nobody can defeat Rowlands for the 1974 crown, but a Perrine nomination would be awesome. The other star here is Fosse. I love how he conveys a club scene, the audience close-ups are so vulgar and beautiful. He borrows from vérité for what at the time would have felt like “reality”, but now feels like an expertly crafted construction. Also, it turns out, nobody films a joyless threesome like Fosse.
Likely nominations: cinematography, editing, lead actress