A review by Brooks Rich
Today we have one of my favorite films of all time and one of the most critically acclaimed films we've had on Forgotten Film Friday. I think people probably forget how good Ryan O’Neal was as an actor before he went crazy. His is a tragic Hollywood story that shows how crazy celebrities can get. He became a train wreck whose personal relationships were volatile and were tabloid fodder for years. But today let’s discuss what I think is his best acting performance.... maybe rivaled only by his work in Walter Hill's The Driver. Paper Moon is one of the best grifter films ever made.
Ryan O’Neal plays Moses "Moze" Pray, a con man who during the Great Depression visits widows and convinces them to complete payment on Bibles with their names inscribed on them which he pretends were purchased by their deceased husbands. He attends the funeral of a former lover and the mourners suspect he is the father of the woman's nine-year-old daughter Addie, played by O’Neal's daughter Tatum in an Academy Award winning role. The two become unlikely travel companions and try to form a strange family while also working on Moze's cons.
This film is spectacular. The dialogue is so crisp and the two 'o' Neals have great chemistry together. Yes, they became estranged from each other, but on screen they are a great team. Tatum displays astonishing talent in this and it's easy to see why she is the youngest winner of an Academy Award, an honor she still holds to this day. Director Peter Bogdanovich has a great visual eye and chooses to shoot the film in black and white, which perfectly fits the Depression setting. Bogdanobich is an interesting director and while some might say The Last Picture Show is his best work, I strongly believe it is this film.
Credit must also be given to screenwriter Alvin Sargent, who brilliantly adapts the novel the film is based on, Addie Pray by Joe David Brown. Sargent received an Academy Award nomination for his efforts. He died recently and his career is something to look into. He is a two-time Academy Award winner for best screenplay for the films Julia and Ordinary People and he worked on all of Sam Raimi's Spiderman trilogy. Respect Mr. Sargent and rest in peace.
The main reason to see this film is to see the developing relationship between Moze and Addie. The film never states if they are father and daughter, Moze certainly doesn't think so, but at the end it doesn't matter. I imagine some of you may have forgotten how good this film really is. Track it down and give it a watch. It's a little over an hour and a half and is a breeze of a watch.
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