"The King of Marvin Gardens" Review

 

by Daniel White

Continuing my salute to American movies from the seventies, I watched The King of Marvin Gardens (1972). The flick also serves as my birthday tribute to acting giant, Ellen Burstyn (December 7, 1934). One of the finest actors to emerge from a truly exceptional decade for film, she scores here as an aging party gal grappling with mental illness.

Directed by Bob Rafaelson, it's a tale of two brothers, David and Jason Staebler. Jack Nicholson plays David, a late night Philadelphia disc jockey. The film opens with his startling on-air monologue, an involved story about a prank the boys pulled on their grandfather which unexpectedly ends in his death. However, in the next scene we find the old man very much alive and living with David. This shocking confessional, followed by the disclosure that it was all a lie, is a significant and unsettling reveal for us, the viewer. It serves to put us on alert, to warn us of the unpredictability that lies ahead.

Summoned to Atlantic City by Jason (Bruce Dern), whom he hasn't seen in over a year, David is greeted at the train station by Sally (Burstyn), Jason's overly ebullient girlfriend. She lives with him and a younger woman, Jessica (Julia Ann Robinson), in one of the city's hotels. Eventually, David will discover the troubling fact that Jessica is not only Sally's stepdaughter, but also sexually involved with them. Two disparate brothers, reunited but at odds with one another, and a mother/daughter sex team. This is a makeshift family foursome destined for disaster.

The film is engrossing, if somewhat baffling. There is reference to David having spent time in a mental institution, and some of the scenes play surreally, as if they are unspooling only for him in his increasingly suspicious mind. Rafaelson and scenarist Jacob Brackman keep us guessing, and though it appears the events are real, the ambiguity remains. The four leads are all committed, talented performers, that even when the story starts to sag, we remain attentive. And cinematographer Lazlo Kovacs has done a splendid job of capturing the wintry feel of a seaside resort town off season. Washed out blues and sterile grays contrast nicely with the vibrant, bold indoor colors that mirror the unbridled emotions that are spiraling to a crescendo.

The movie ends in a burst of unexpected violence that feels intrusive and at odds with what has transpired. Only the gifted four actors, especially the brilliant Ellen Burstyn, lend an air of believability to a forced, problematic conclusion. Rafaelson is lucky to be working with some of that era's shining players. He is also lucky to have the wonderful Scatman Crothers in a key supporting role. Engaging as the enigmatic Lewis, he is fully convincing playing against type as the film's heavy.

An intriguing movie that benefits from first-rate acting and impeccable cinematography, The King of Marvin Gardens is currently streaming on Tubi.