Review of Insignificance (1985) by Art S — 19 Feb 2015

Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Joe Dimaggio, and Joe McCarthy walk into a bar...or rather a hotel room. That's the basic plot of Nicolas Roeg's film which is a stage play that has been opened up a little bit.

Michael Emil and Theresa Russell basically do impersonations of the first two whereas Gary Busey and Tony Curtis are probably just winging it. The good thing here is that the script (by playwright Terry Johnson) doesn't really follow any known or expected trajectory so it feels fresh.

However, it isn't always clear what the point is. Perhaps there is something being said about the perils and side effects of fame and/or the unintended consequences of one's behaviour (that are a result of it becoming famous)? Nic Roeg doesn't lend any recognisable technique to the film - there are a few flashback or thought bubble moments visualized briefly by the characters but not enough to bring us back to the moods or cinematography of Walkabout or Don't Look Now.