"The Long Goodbye" Review

 

by Daniel White

Kudos to director Robert Altman, screenwriter Leigh Bracket and leading man Elliott Gould. They have successfully reinvented, revitalized and restored Philip Marlowe. The Long Goodbye (1973) serves as the vehicle in which the new Marlowe is unveiled. It's a humdinger, a neo noir for the ages. Altman astutely rescues the famed private eye from embalmment with this enthralling flick. It's a juiced-up, yet languid, ride prone to frequent, frenzied accelerations.

You know you've been shot down the rabbit hole when the opening credits reveal that Johnny Mercer and John Williams collaborated on the title track. The song surfaces absurdly throughout the film, underscoring the fact that life is a cosmic farce. Skylark meets Star Wars in this topsy-turvy world and the result is pure fireworks.

Elliott Gould is fly as Marlowe - a laid back quipster who finds himself with a target on his back when he helps a friend out of a sticky domestic situation. Scrambling to make sense of his pal's sudden suicide, he doggedly goes looking for answers. Eventually, he discovers loyalty dissolves into disenchantment - and worse, danger.

I kept thinking the plot reminds me of another movie. But it wasn't until the finale that the lightbulb went off: scenarist Leigh Brackett has penned a subtle homage to The Third Man! I tip my fedora to her and Altman, especially for their tree-lined street sayonara. Yowza!

Comparison is inevitable to the two Robert Mitchum outings released in the same decade. Both his films are serviceable efforts but neither is very remarkable and the actor is too old for the part. Altman, Brackett and Gould have made their Marlowe invaluable to a modern day audience, something the Mitchum flicks were unable to accomplish.

A newfangled retelling that is respectful of its origins, The Long Goodbye embodies everything that is excellent in a crime drama crafted in the post-studio system era. Dare I say it rivals Chinatown for worthiness. There! I said it and I stand by it!

I would be remiss if I did not mention the imposing Sterling Hayden as alcoholic writer, Roger Wade. I have never been a big fan of the big man but he is incredibly effective here. Hayden, along with Mark Rydell as a sadistic gangster, skyrocket this film into noir Nirvana. Produced by Altman's company, Lion's Gate, and distributed by United Artists, with the legendary Vilmos Zsigmond handling the cinematography and Nina Van Pallandt as the obligatory femme fatale, The Long Goodbye is currently streaming on Tubi.