One of the more interesting and overlooked mystery films of the 1970s is Arthur Penns' "Night Moves", a snappily written and neatly plotted (by Alan Sharp) concoction about Harry Moseby, played by Gene Hackman. Harry is a former pro football player who now ekes out an unambitious living as a private eye. He's hired by a former actress, Arlene Iverson (Janet Ward), to search for the lady's restless daughter Delly (Melanie Griffith), a girl who's the working definition of jailbait. Soon, Harry comes to realize that there's a fair bit going on here, more than just the story of a runaway daughter. The case takes him from L.A. to the Florida Keys, and has him encountering a variety of characters.
Among these characters is a young James Woods, already showing that intensity that has been his stock in trade. The strong supporting cast also includes Jennifer Warren as free-spirited Paula, John Crawford as Delly's stepfather Tom, Susan Clark as Harry's wife Ellen, Harris Yulin as Ellens' lover Marty, Kenneth Mars as Harry's jovial associate Nick, Edward Binns as Joey Ziegler (a stunt coordinator for the movies), and Anthony Costello as sleazy stuntman Marv. The very young Griffith (16 at the time) is showcased to great effect; she's wonderfully appealing as always.
The jazzy score by Michael Small automatically calls to mind Lalo Schifrins' work for "Dirty Harry", and the dazzling cinematography is by Bruce Surtees; excellent location work, too. Penn and Hackman make the most out of Sharps' screenplay, which nicely updates the film noir genre for the 1970s, and gives Hackman a fun character to play. Harry is not particularly great at his job, and in fact he discovered his wifes' affair by accident. Even in the end, he admits to Paula that the pieces of the puzzle sort of fell into his lap and that any deductive skills he possesses didn't have too much to do with it.
In the tradition of noir, Harry is a lead character who's not without his flaws, and once his journey reaches its destination, he won't necessarily be better off. The relationships are well developed, with Hackman getting some good chemistry going with both Warren and Clark; the scenes with these performers tend to be the best in the film. The story does, in the end, make a great point for the futility of existence and how people can easily fall into the same traps on a regular basis.
Fans of detective fiction should find it well worth a viewing.
Eight out of 10.
Among these characters is a young James Woods, already showing that intensity that has been his stock in trade. The strong supporting cast also includes Jennifer Warren as free-spirited Paula, John Crawford as Delly's stepfather Tom, Susan Clark as Harry's wife Ellen, Harris Yulin as Ellens' lover Marty, Kenneth Mars as Harry's jovial associate Nick, Edward Binns as Joey Ziegler (a stunt coordinator for the movies), and Anthony Costello as sleazy stuntman Marv. The very young Griffith (16 at the time) is showcased to great effect; she's wonderfully appealing as always.
The jazzy score by Michael Small automatically calls to mind Lalo Schifrins' work for "Dirty Harry", and the dazzling cinematography is by Bruce Surtees; excellent location work, too. Penn and Hackman make the most out of Sharps' screenplay, which nicely updates the film noir genre for the 1970s, and gives Hackman a fun character to play. Harry is not particularly great at his job, and in fact he discovered his wifes' affair by accident. Even in the end, he admits to Paula that the pieces of the puzzle sort of fell into his lap and that any deductive skills he possesses didn't have too much to do with it.
In the tradition of noir, Harry is a lead character who's not without his flaws, and once his journey reaches its destination, he won't necessarily be better off. The relationships are well developed, with Hackman getting some good chemistry going with both Warren and Clark; the scenes with these performers tend to be the best in the film. The story does, in the end, make a great point for the futility of existence and how people can easily fall into the same traps on a regular basis.
Fans of detective fiction should find it well worth a viewing.
Eight out of 10.