I just watched this again for the first time in many years. I had recalled what a twisted dark comedy this was, but I did not remember it in sufficient detail how it came to be that way.
It has a wonderful, almost prototypical, '70s comedy cast but I don't think that the secret lies there. I really think that it comes from the writing and direction. There is an ambiguity and ellipticality to just about every sequence. As a viewer you are never sure quite what anything means and quite what was important in what you have just seen. But later, if you have been observant, little things start to come together in disturbing patterns.
An example without getting spoilerish -- early on James Caan is thrown out of a ride that he has hitched because the driver has decided that he is a useless slacker (in reality the character hasn't had a chance to do anything useful as he's just been released from prison). The landscape is reminiscent of the stubble field of the airplane chase in 'North by Northwest'. However, there is an emergency phone with an attractive young woman (Sally Kellerman) in a stalled station wagon right there. She is on the phone asking for help, and seeing Caan asks him to help, which he does. Just then a cop pulls up (directed by the call?) asks if she needs assistance. She answers no. The cop tries to ascertain who owns and is driving the car. Upon finding out that it is her, and noting her increasingly erratic behavior, he tells her that Caan has to drive, as she's barefoot. Is the cop trying to hassle them, or is just trying to get them safely on their way and away from him when she is clearly not fully there? Shortly thereafter Caan asks her what she is up on, she answers that she had a glass of wine with a salami sandwich. It's pretty clear that alcohol is _not_ her intoxicant of choice. Later we see her popping unidentified pills several times.
Watch for patterns and reappearances, some of them are quite subtle.
I've got to give a shout out to my local video store which had a VHS copy (1990) on the shelf. This isn't available on DVD.
It has a wonderful, almost prototypical, '70s comedy cast but I don't think that the secret lies there. I really think that it comes from the writing and direction. There is an ambiguity and ellipticality to just about every sequence. As a viewer you are never sure quite what anything means and quite what was important in what you have just seen. But later, if you have been observant, little things start to come together in disturbing patterns.
An example without getting spoilerish -- early on James Caan is thrown out of a ride that he has hitched because the driver has decided that he is a useless slacker (in reality the character hasn't had a chance to do anything useful as he's just been released from prison). The landscape is reminiscent of the stubble field of the airplane chase in 'North by Northwest'. However, there is an emergency phone with an attractive young woman (Sally Kellerman) in a stalled station wagon right there. She is on the phone asking for help, and seeing Caan asks him to help, which he does. Just then a cop pulls up (directed by the call?) asks if she needs assistance. She answers no. The cop tries to ascertain who owns and is driving the car. Upon finding out that it is her, and noting her increasingly erratic behavior, he tells her that Caan has to drive, as she's barefoot. Is the cop trying to hassle them, or is just trying to get them safely on their way and away from him when she is clearly not fully there? Shortly thereafter Caan asks her what she is up on, she answers that she had a glass of wine with a salami sandwich. It's pretty clear that alcohol is _not_ her intoxicant of choice. Later we see her popping unidentified pills several times.
Watch for patterns and reappearances, some of them are quite subtle.
I've got to give a shout out to my local video store which had a VHS copy (1990) on the shelf. This isn't available on DVD.