The Chase (1966)"If he comes back and you need any deputies, every man here will be glad to help you."
"The state of Texas says any of you can own a gun and most of you got two, but deputies you ain't." Watching mother! is a rare film experience. Love it... Hate it... the film is alive. It's a hot, vibrant mess that may be genius or may be terrible and it all depends on when you ask me. The further I get from mother! the more I'm confident it's a film to celebrate, though I remember being more uneasy and critical while watching.
The Chase gave me the same feeling.
The movie Arthur Penn made just before Bonnie and Clyde is nothing like I expected and quite unlike most other films in existence. It's a character ensemble about an escaped convict (Robert Redford) and the small town that believes he's headed their way. Over the next 24-hours, the small southern town will tear itself apart over this event. With unapologetic and rapidly increasing melodrama, the film exposes hatred in all levels of social and economic class, save for the sheriff (Marlon Brando), the one person who wants to capture Redford alive. (Meanwhile, everyone assumes he's in one pocket or another.)
It would be impossible to accurately describe the wild directions this film goes in. I just have to say it does a number of things I normally hate, many theatrical scenes that don't make logical sense but feel right. It's a great looking, relentlessly cynical film, with an over-qualified cast that includes Angie Dickinson, Jane Fonda, E.G. Marshall, Miriam Hopkins and Robert Duvall. Brando is in peak form. At times it seems like a collection of great moments looking for a cohesive story, but as the dramatic undertow pulled me deeper towards the conclusion, I came to really respect the film's originality, which I think is ultimately very rewarding.
RATING: * * * - Very Good