Review of Point Blank (1967) by Kevin D — 13 Sep 2009
Jon Boorman, not yet so beautifully crazy as when he made Excalibur and Zardoz, here imbued noir with dazzling style and existential mystery. Lee Marvin, known only by the name Walker, has lost his lover and nearly his life when a friend convinces him to participate in a robbery and turns on him when the deed is done.
His quest to right the wrongs done him and collect the money he is owed grows increasingly absurd; none of the corporate criminals affiliated with his partner in crime feel any culpability in the matter, and would rather pay far more to have him killed than to give him what he feels he's owed.
Boorman toys with the chronology of the story in a bit of bravura editing that no doubt influenced Nicolas Roeg; the first short of Marvin shows him at the LA club where he beats up some henchman, his face splashed livid red by psychedelilc patterns projected on a screen.
Then the film crosscuts back and forth between him being shot, casing the job with his partner, and his partner begging him to help with the robbery- a scrambled anachronism that tells the story with breathtaking efficiency.
This review of Point Blank (1967) was written by Kevin D on 13 Sep 2009.
Point Blank has generally received very positive reviews.
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