Point Blank

I've no idea how I've avoided seeing this film, particularly given that I tend to really like John Boorman's work. Nevertheless, I've seen it now and, well, I was dumb and should have seen it sooner.... The film (which I know you've probably already seen) follows a man named Walker (renamed from Parker in the source novel) as he seeks to get his cut of a heist where he'd been double-crossed and left for dead. As played by Lee Marvin, Walker is clearly a damaged guy--his perceptions of reality seem to waver and he is shown, visually, as a man with only a tenuous grip on time and with even less grip on his startling bursts of violence. He moves through space with nearly unwavering determination but through time with much less certainly, and it makes for a fascinating watch. At the beginning of the film, Boorman cross-cuts all over the place, creating a wildly disorienting feel for the audience and mirroring Walker's disjointed state as he gets his bearings following the opening. It is strikingly effective, but that is only Boorman's initial gambit. He follows this with everything from sound blasts to incredible color splashes (and let me tell you, Angie Dickinson's bumble-bee get-up is amazing) and it all serves to keep Walker's world (not to mention the viewer's) off kilter. I need to watch this again before I write any more, but holy hell, that was extraordinary.