#Night moves film analysis movie#
#Night moves film analysis archive#

He's surrounded by plenty of unsavory types, some of whom are employed as stuntmen in the movie business. The case leads Harry to the Florida Keys where Delly's stepfather, Tom Iverson (John Crawford) (divorced from Arlene) runs a charting plane service. However, once Delly turns 25, the spigot is turned off and Delly gets control of her fortune. As long as Arlene lives with the girl, she can continue residing in a mansion and enjoy a lavish lifestyle. Seems Arlene is dependent upon the funds from a trust that her late husband set up for Delly. She wants Harry to find her wayward, runaway 16 year-old daughter Delly (Melanie Griffith), with whom she has a terrible relationship. While Harry is trying to reconcile with Ellen, he's hired by Arlene Iverson (Janet Ward), a one-time minor starlet with a knack for marrying rich men. He catches her having an affair but it's clear her lover (Harris Yulin) is more of a distraction than a passion. His wife Ellen (Susan Clark) is bored and frustrated that Harry is too remote and spends far too much of his time on low-paying cases. He's a complex man haunted by bad childhood memories and he's got some contemporary problems, as well. private eye who isn't down-and-out like most of his cinematic counterparts, but is not setting the world on fire, either. In 'Night Moves' he is the front-and-center star, in almost every scene and he dominates the movie with a superb, laid-back performance that is so natural that it reminds us of how Hackman's genius was to make you think you are watching a real-life person. Hackman was a supporting character in that film but received an Oscar nomination.

The film reunited Gene Hackman with Arthur Penn after their triumphant work on 'Bonnie and Clyde' (1967).

#Night moves film analysis archive#

The movie began to gain steam over the decades with the critical establishment and is now considered to be a classic by many, thus its arrival on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive is much appreciated by retro movie lovers. There were some prescient critics like Roger Ebert who foresaw the film's enduring qualities but, for the most part, 'Night Moves' didn't get much attention in a year in which the likes of great films like 'Jaws', 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest', 'Dog Day Afternoon' and 'Barry Lyndon' were in release. Similarly, director Arthur Penn's 1975 mystery 'Night Moves' (the title is- appropriately enough- a metaphor) sat on a shelf for over a year before it went into general release, only to be greeted by an apathetic public. Howard Hawks' 'The Big Sleep', for example, had a plot that could not be comprehended even by the people who made the film, but it ranks as one of the great movies in the crime genre.

Some of the best private eye thrillers tend to be complex and sometimes incomprehensible affairs.