Wow! This film is so full of laugh-out-loud moments it's almost a comedy. And that left me rattled long after it was over, and I'd reconsidered the zany goings-on of a self-made millionaire lawyer maiming the beautiful woman who scorned him. BLINDED HER! Ooo. Hell hath no fury like an officer of the court told to go fly a kite. Then, years later, they get back together and tie the knot. Marry! ("Prison really muscled him up.") And THEN... long after that... he's accused of cheating on her with another woman, who he plots to kill after SHE dumps him. His infamies aren't crimes of passion. They're very, very bad habits! Part of the appeal is the setting - NOO Yawk nouveau riche - and the stunning scope of the story, spanning late-'50s to present (the unfortunate female, Linda Riss, was splashed with acid in 1959, the crime committed by thugs hired by her erstwhile lover, attorney Burt Pagach).
But in the hands of the filmmakers, Pagach's astoundingly atrocious behavior is practically laughed off as a charming eccentricity. Or... maybe... the producers were as dumbfounded charting these two bizarre people as I was watching them. At times, Pagach is portrayed as almost romantically valiant. "He could still see the beauty in her," one of their gossipy friends says in a tone very close to admiration. Other talking heads (they provide some of the biggest laughs in the film) include legendary journalist Jimmy Breslin, who pronounces Pagach "insane". Bingo, Jimmy.
The pop-song soundtrack grounds the proceedings in specific eras, although the choice of Elvis' "Burning Love" over the final credits is tasteless. And, yes, an irresistible choice.
But in the hands of the filmmakers, Pagach's astoundingly atrocious behavior is practically laughed off as a charming eccentricity. Or... maybe... the producers were as dumbfounded charting these two bizarre people as I was watching them. At times, Pagach is portrayed as almost romantically valiant. "He could still see the beauty in her," one of their gossipy friends says in a tone very close to admiration. Other talking heads (they provide some of the biggest laughs in the film) include legendary journalist Jimmy Breslin, who pronounces Pagach "insane". Bingo, Jimmy.
The pop-song soundtrack grounds the proceedings in specific eras, although the choice of Elvis' "Burning Love" over the final credits is tasteless. And, yes, an irresistible choice.