Back in the high life

March 29, 2003

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Hey, it’s an impeccable Billy Wilder movie!Charles Laughton is extremely special here, solidifying the tradition of the brilliant right-minded asshole. He’s fallible and not actually the smartest person in the room anymore. We meet him being a jerk to Elsa Lancaster as his nurse, and it’s a meaningful choice that she’s clearly right and he’s […]
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Bill Gunn didn’t miss. About halfway through The Landlord, it became clear that this wasn’t a story about a callow rich white kid who learned how to live a satisfying life from a bunch of poor black folks. (Credit also to Kristin Hunter, author of the original novel.) The first act is funny, and mostly […]