Thomas Matich
cinematic time warp
Peacock Pick: Play Misty for Me (1971)
Currently streaming on Peacock: Play Misty for Me from 1971
Clint's directorial debut, Play Misty for Me, released the same year as the first Dirty Harry film, is an early entry into the slasher genre that still resonates. Eastwood plays Dave Garner, a late night jazz DJ in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, who is a playboy and has a one night stand, at least in his eyes, with devoted listener Evelyn Draper (Jessica Walter of Lucille Bluth/Arrested Development fame).
Misty opens with a wandering aerial shot of the Carmel coastline as Dave coasts along the winding highway in his green 1957 Jaguar convertible, foreshadowing the film's grisly end as Evelyn's obsession with Dave quickly turns into creepy stalking familiar in numerous erotic thrillers featuring a woman scorned such as Fatal Attraction. Yet Misty is often more effective than the contemporary entries in this genre. Despite being nearly 50 years old, the celebrity fixations are still timely, especially in the age of social media and Walter's Golden Globe nominated performance still packs a powerful punch - she ratchets up the crazy and there is a general anxiety that permeates the entire film because Evelyn is a total wacko. Misty features one of Eastwood's most understated roles as he's dishing out wisecracks instead of bullets, svelte with long-hair, mutton-chops and groovy threads. As one extended sequence of the film is shot on-location at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Misty operates as a pleasant time capsule as we follow Dave who is a hip cat weaving through the counter-culture era. Set in a time before 'likes' and 'influencers,' Play Misty for Me is a refreshing thriller where our modern celebrities are now beginning to appear more desperate than their fans.
The Dream is Always the Same: From Tom Cruise in "Risky Business" to Timothee Chalamet in "Call Me by Your Name"
Tangerine Dream's sultry synths pulse in the background as the camera zooms out from twinky Tom Cruise's wayfarers, a slim cigarette dangling from his lips as he flashes back to a reoccurring dream of sneaking into the neighbor's house and stumbling upon a beautiful girl showering, she invites him to wash her back, but the steam obscures his reach for her until he finds himself transported to a classroom, three hours late for the college entrance exams. With the aforementioned opening scene following the moody neon pastel credits as a night train rolls through a gritty Chicago twilight, we are introduced to Joel Goodson and for the most part, Tom Cruise, in Paul Brickman's 1983 classic Risky Business . The film was a breakout for Cruise, who some 35 years later has both delivered and disappointed on the potential of his brilliant performance in this early movie. Cruise can act and when he truly slips into character, as he did when portraying the innocent "Good
TCM Alert: The Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973)
TCM will be airing the ultra rare Ryan O'Neal caper The Thief Who Came to Dinner this Friday afternoon June 25th (2pm EST).
Scary Socioeconomics: John Carpenter's "They Live" (1988) and Brian Yuzna's "Society" (1989)
In John Carpenter's They Live , Roddy Piper, ripped and rugged, is a drifter wandering through the desolate Pacific Northwest, looking for an honest's days work in the aftermath of Reaganomics America. He finds a gig on a construction site in Los Angeles, where he can shovel dirt, with his muscles glistening in the warm sun, finding refuge in the tent cities that director John Carpenter constructs as a prediction of a future caste system to come to the USA. Casting the Saskatchewan born Piper was a brilliant move, because his tough-guy wrestler shell exuded all that was America at the time, yet his knowing, wearied stare gave him a Gregory Peck quality, he was worn down but not beat down. He wasn't Hulk Hogan ripping his shirt off, but he would kick some ass. And beat ass he did, in a totally awesome fight with Keith David, in which he's trying to convince his friend to try on the sunglasses that allow him to see the creepy aliens disguised as the bourgeoisie upper