Have You Seen .....? by David Thomson: Kind Hearts and Coronets, City of God and Taxi Driver

 

In 1902, a condemned man sits in his cell writing his memoir. Strange that the villain of Kind Hearts and Coronets gets to narrate his own story. He is the 10th Duke of Chalfont, but only because ...... but that would be giving away the whole plot. We track back to his childhood, a modest family He has a job in a drapers shop. But when his mother dies, he is taken on by the Gascogne family in their law firm, headed by the current Duke of Chalfont. Deaths in the family occur at regular intervals. Until our narrator is charged for a murder he didn't actually commit. The trial takes place in the House of Lords would you believe. i found this to be the funniest part of the film. David Thomson says about this 1949 film "it is a very funny film, but don't let yourself settle for the jollity". 

City of God does not actually appear in David Thomson's book. Strange as it was nominated for four Academy Awards and lots of wins in various other awards. But this is a ridiculously violent film. Totally chaotic with a huge cast. If only we knew who was who.

David Thomson says that "Taxi Driver is a great film, in which there was a clear and willing glimpse of disorder at the heart of America". When (a very young) Robert De Niro's Travis Bickle picks up Senator and Presidential Candidate Charles Palantine, he is asked if there is one thing he would do, his answer is to clear up the mess that is New York. "The city here is like an open sewer, you know, it's full of filth and scum. Sometimes I can hardly take it". Thomson goes on to say "The gesture towards urban realism exists, but the film is hallucinatory, beautiful and scarring". The New York locations are amazing, especially the scenes at night. 

I find it hard to believe I had never seen this film before, it would have looked so much better on the big screen. I found it a little episodic as Travis picks up various fares, but his pursuit of Cybill Shepherd's Betsy is pretty creepy. But Shepherd looks at her dazzling best. Thomson tells us "The streets gasp with smoke or steam, and in the dank air it turns into Bernard Herrmann's rueful saxophone - his last and maybe his greatest score". If I had known about the extremely violent and, maybe, hallucinatory ending I might have given it a miss. But then I would have missed the wonderful photography.