Posted in
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Arthur Lowe
Malcolm McDowell
Philip Stone
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Genre
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Comedy
Drama
Musical
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Media
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DVD
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Studio | Warner Home Video | ||
Language | English | ||
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Reviewer
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Gareth
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Description
Lindsay Anderson, working again with Malcolm McDowell and Robert Sherwin, continues his comic comment on corruption in British society when Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell), the school boy from IF. . ., sets out, like a modern Candide, to make his way in the business world. Anderson stretches the boundaries of cinema with an eclectic use of movies within movies, silent-film-style title cards, surreal fantasies, actors playing multiple parts, and a live soundtrack. Alan Price appears on screen singing several songs. In the lyrics to one song he sings, 'Someone has to win in the human race, if it isn't you, then it has to be me', which is thematically linked to Mick's rise and fall in his career journey from lowly coffee salesman to assistant to Sir James Burgess (Ralph Richardson), the most evil man in the world.
This is a very fast-paced, wildly creative, cinematic tour-de-force that set the standard for expanding the boundaries of British cinema in the early 1970s. McDowell, who is on screen in almost every scene, keeps the bizarre situations from overwhelming the human emotions with a marvellously expressive performance. In the end, with a sly Zen message, Anderson tells us that in a crazy world we can only look within ourselves for a reason to smile.
Review
There is something about this film that, for me, defies explanation. The plot is epic and labyrinthine as it follows Mick Travis - yes, that Mick Travis... - in various stages of his life, his various ups and downs to his final enlightenment through a form of shakubuku.
The characters and situations are quite complex with many of the actors play multiple roles. Throughout the film I got the feeling that there was more to the film than what I thought, that there was a layer of meaning that I hadn't quite penetrated. The first time I saw this film I understood the zen-like ending and it had quite an impact on me, and each time I see it I still feel the same way, but not how it linked into the rest of the story.
Now, I think it has more to do with the path to enlightenment that we all must take -from innocence to ruin, to finding ourselves once again...!
Malcolm McDowell is superb as Mick Travis, a multi-layered, multi-faceted character - this is, for me, his best role.
The music plays an important part for me. The soundtrack is by Alan Price, and all the songs are uniformly charming and wonderful -especially the title track.
It's a shame this film isn't more widely recognised - it's a classic for so many reasons, and needs to be seen by more people!!
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