Being There (1979)

Chance has spent his entire life working as a gardener for a millionaire. He has never left the estate. never been for a ride in a car, and all he knows of the outside world is what he has seen on television. That's all he does when not gardening- watch tv. When his benefactor dies, he is thrust out into the world, which becomes a strange and wonderous journey for him, made all the more curious by the fact that he's middle aged and still retains a great sense of childlike innocence and naivety. This film is based on a novel (with the screenplay penned by the book's author), and it's quite an odd and interesting piece of work. It's also the sort of thing that I think only Peter Sellers and Hal Ashby could really sell and make work. It takes the right kind of touch to pull such a weird thing off, but I'm happy to say they get the job done. The film is a journey of discovery, as well as a sharp satire about dependence on the media, and just how much it rules our lives. It's a funny film, but also a touch sad. It's also quite beautiful in a poetic kinda of way.In a lot of ways, it's kinda of a fantasy, though it's mostly pretty well (for the most part) grounded in reality. Well, if you can buy into the premise that is.I enjoyed this film a great deal, but as of now, I don't think this is the masterpiece that others make it out to be. I think I'd need to see this a few more times and really absorb it before I could make that call myself. For the most part I really bought into it, though I had a hard time totally accepting the way people react to Chance and his behavior and way of life. The perforamnces and cinematography are what really make it work though. Sellers is absolutely brilliant, and I can't think of anyoen else who could pull this off. SHirley MacLaine is also quite good in her role of a woman who takes a liking to Chance. There's some great scenes throughout, but my favorite is the long sequence that shows Chance's first steps out into the larger world abroad. That sequence alone is what had me sold on this movie. All in all, a fine piece of work, but I'm not really 100% sure what I make of it.. It's odd, and I don't quite get it, yet it means no harm, and is pretty sharp when trying to make a point about life and society.