Blank Noir

I watched Point Blank after it was lauded in a couple of film blogs I read, like Like Anna Karina's Sweater. They were right, it's great.

It is a neo-noir revenge tale, where Lee Marvin has been robbed of his share of a heist and shot point blank. He survives, and sets out to get back his $93,000. He does this viciously, ruthlessly, attacking from the shadows. That's the noir part.

The neo part is the quick flashbacks, the psychedelic swirls of color - projected on his face in a go-go bar, swirls of color from the smashed shampoos and bath oils in a tossed bathroom, and the footsteps echoing down long modern hallways. And in the psychology: Carrol O'Connor asks Lee Marvin what he really wants. He has an answer, but he sounds a little unsure, for the only time in the film.

Keenan Wynn has a role, but it isn't much like his part in Annie Get Your Gun. There is a scene where Lee Marvin systematically destroys a car, much like in The Driver. I was hoping to make a comparison to Vanishing Point, but I'm not sure there is one - OK, they both have snap flashbacks. I suppose I should see Grosse Point Blank, to complete the "Point" series.

It reminded me most of Get Carter (the Michael Caine version), for the grim viewpoint and savage violence. But Caine's Carter was a talker. Marvin is nearly silent throughout.

Also features Angie Dickinson, who looks very weird to me, in a very 60s way - huge hairdo on a tiny, stick-figure body in tailored suits.