Arthur Hamilton loses himself in the drudgery of middle age and conceit,
possessed by materialism and success which have become superficial trappings
that resonate in the empty chambers of his aging heart. He is adrift and alone,
a wife and daughter can offer no salvation from these distant shores of space,
and he must find himself once again…or continue to walk the earth virtually
lifeless, a victim to the slow fade of love.
But Arthur gets a Second chance. A phone call from a “deceased” friend sets
him up for a new identity, to become not only a different person but start life
afresh, to breathe in the sweetness of youth tempered with the wisdom of
maturity. He is reborn. But he must shed the guilt of his former life and
become Tony Wilson; his old life must remain dead. Arthur’s change is only
superficial and he is still imbued with the same rotting essence; he has not
come to terms with the root of his inner conflict, he has only treated the
symptoms. Baptized in the wine and passion of free love, he cannot shed his old
skin and seeks his old life, only to discover that he was not as loved (or
missed) as he thought. Arthur’s second life is now measured in seconds as his
corpse will be put to good use…for the next consumer.
John Frankenheimer and legendary cinematographer James Wong Howe films with
paranoid and frantic close-ups, the camera moving through crowds like an
invisible angry spirit, a vengeful ghost haunting its next victim. Howe skews
identity with mirrored twisting images and surreal hallucinations. This
beautiful cinematography reveals Arthur’s confusion and turmoil and his
inability to socialize. His inner voice is now mute. The score heightens the
tension towards his narcissistic self-destruction and is hammered with irony:
as he finally begins the long journey to enlightenment he realizes there are no
third chances. In vino veritas: no matter where you go, there you are.
Final Cut: (B+)
