Review of Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) by Danny R — 29 Jan 2012

A provocative edgy drama based on the best-selling novel by Judith Rossner, about a repressed young teacher named Theresa Dunn, brilliantly played by Diane Keaton in a powerful and emotionally complex performance.

whose initially innocent search to find a man of her dreams escalates into promiscuous and dangerous encounters with men she meets in bars, she begins to wallow endlessly in her new "liberated" sexual lifestyle, the thrill of the evening trysts, which eventually involves drugs and violence has her life spinning out of control with this self-destructive behavior.

Diane Keaton wonderfully balances the dual aspect of her character's life, by day a outwardly caring teacher to deaf children living a banal existence, and by night a drug-fueled bar tramp, this film is a indictment against the sexual attitudes of the 70s, where disco was the music and coke and weed was the new drugs of choice, the sexual revolution was at it's peak here, before herpes and AIDS made their dreaded entrance.

This is one of the few and rare instances where the film is better than the book, thanks to the brilliant screenplay and direction of Richard Brooks. It is difficult to watch at times but this film is pure cinema at it's highest level.

Superlative performances from Tuesday Weld, Richard Kiley, William Atherton, Priscilla Pointer, Tom Berenger and Richard Gere in a memorable turn as a hyperactive hustler. Shocking then it is thought-provoking now, and builds to a unforgettable and shattering climax.

Highly Recommended.