TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews Review of The Day of the Locust

The Day of the Locust (1975)

You don't stand a chance in Hell if you're not one of them

[7/10 · 8 September 2010]

I haven't read the novel that this is based upon, but I would like to. Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be trapped in front of a car crash just about to happen, with no means of preventing it? That's what this is. You see the people, the situations, and you want to crawl through the screen and stop them. This movie hurts. At no point did this make me smile, or inspire any hope. I see another reviewer has called it nihilistic, and I agree. Is this a failure on the film's part? I don't think so. It's what it set out to be. On principle and as a personal test of strength, I try to never look away from what I'm watching, unless it's visually disgusting(not the case here). Yet this often had me avert my eyes. Not in response to the presentation, which is excellent, but the content. It is rather unpleasant. Set during the Great Depression, this shows us several youths in California, with dreams of making it big. What happens is that Hollywood chews them up and spits them out, and proceeds to walk out the door like it was nothing. This could also be argued to be somewhat about materialism. While I realize that this is not the only famous picture about this, it is the only I have seen, as far as I can remember. We see intolerable, superficial celebrities(not to mention wanna-be's) and those that suck up to them. The climax is extremely visceral, and I'm not sure when I was last that gripped and affected by, well, anything. Atherton is Tod, who wants to make it in the art department. Sutherland is Homer Simpson(no relation), an incredibly pitiful, lonely middle-aged man. And Black is miscast as Faye, the object of the males' desire. She nails the obnoxious, unrealistic and spoiled aspects, and I can't complain about her empty, glassy-eyed stare. Where she comes up short is that she isn't sensual or sexy. Yes, she is meant to have been mangled by the city as well; however, we don't find her attractive or alluring, and it harms the overall result. The acting is great. These characters are not likable; they are interesting enough, and I wasn't bored following them. I've heard others describe this as excessively long... I suppose cutting it down could help it. The dialog is well-written. This is sardonic and darkly comical in tone. There is a lot of disturbing content, some brutal violence and blood, and a little sexuality in this. The DVD comes with no extras. I recommend this to those that this sounds appealing to. 7/10