Review of The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) by Garrett C — 22 Mar 2016

Its a cold, pacey affair with every 'artistic' element straining for relevance or importance and in the end it all feels rather fussy and dressed up with no place to go. That aside, its also a totally haunting film - the dichotomic brothers, Ellen Burstyn on the edge of the mental diving board, the way the film turns Atlantic City into an amusement park-turned elephant graveyard.

The pieces don't fit without force and the vagueries of the 'plot' take on a frustratingly dreamlike quality. This is film school filmmaking by a man who already knew how to make a good movie, with far less tedious technique, reminiscent of Scorsese's 'New York, New York'.