With each film of his under my belt, I'm becoming more convinced that Paul Mazursky is the best kept secret from the New Hollywood period. An Unmarried Woman and Moscow on the Hudson both showed him to be an affective director and a screenwriter capable of crafting a rich character portrait of those thrust into uncertainty. In Next Stop, Greenwich Village, Mazursky follows an aspiring actor as he moves out of his parents and to the titular New York neighborhood in search of success. I think the writing in this one is particularly strong, likely pulling from Paul's life in Brooklyn, but he mixes a nostalgia for the time period with the kind of subject matter mostly left unspoken during that era: suicide, abortion, homosexuality, communism. It's not too far off from the kind of social melodramas midcentury Hollywood would put out but with a bit of that 70s bite. What really ties all this together though is the ensemble, especially a truly magnificent performance from Lenny Baker in the lead. Larry is a character that could easily tip over into pure unlikeability but Baker's humor and liveliness make him someone you at least want to follow through these various vignettes. Ellen Greene puts in a surprisingly tender performance but the real scene-stealer is Shelley Winters who bursts in every moment she's on screen with hysterics but is ultimately a sympathetic mother anxious to let go of her son. It's a strong showcase of great writing and great acting though it never really stretches its ambitions beyond that and leaves some of its supporting characters on the outside which I thought was a bit of a shame. Still, another fabulous film from a director whose output I'm now eager to complete.
With each film of his under my belt, I'm becoming more convinced that Paul Mazursky is the best kept secret from the New Hollywood period. An Unmarried Woman and Moscow on the Hudson both showed him to be an affective director and a screenwriter capable of crafting a rich character portrait of those thrust into uncertainty. In Next Stop, Greenwich Village, Mazursky follows an aspiring actor as he moves out of his parents and to the titular New York neighborhood in search of success. I think the writing in this one is particularly strong, likely pulling from Paul's life in Brooklyn, but he mixes a nostalgia for the time period with the kind of subject matter mostly left unspoken during that era: suicide, abortion, homosexuality, communism. It's not too far off from the kind of social melodramas midcentury Hollywood would put out but with a bit of that 70s bite. What really ties all this together though is the ensemble, especially a truly magnificent performance from Lenny Baker in the lead. Larry is a character that could easily tip over into pure unlikeability but Baker's humor and liveliness make him someone you at least want to follow through these various vignettes. Ellen Greene puts in a surprisingly tender performance but the real scene-stealer is Shelley Winters who bursts in every moment she's on screen with hysterics but is ultimately a sympathetic mother anxious to let go of her son. It's a strong showcase of great writing and great acting though it never really stretches its ambitions beyond that and leaves some of its supporting characters on the outside which I thought was a bit of a shame. Still, another fabulous film from a director whose output I'm now eager to complete.
