The Day of the Locust is anything but a cheerful, light look at Hollywood in the '30s. It recreates both the town as well as the filmmaking world around which much of the town revolved with devastating accuracy. The movie tells the twin tales of talentless wannabe actress Faye Greener (Karen Black) and Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland), a lovelorn accountant who couldn't care less about movies. Around this framework, a huge and intricate social network is tellingly revealed, until the film's
gruesome and tragic ending. Not for those who prefer to hang onto their illusions about the glory days of Hollywood, The Day of the Locust, based on the novel by Nathanael West, is a must-see for serious film buffs. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
John (Midnight Cowboy) Schlesinger's version of Nathanael Hawthorne's powerful novel about Hollywood and its dreamers and losers in the 1930s is not always effective, but it's ambitious, daring, and very well acted.
Much has been made of the climactic riot scene, which may have seemed novel when Nathanael West first wrote it back in the '30s, but it's just plain goofy when viewed today
Profoundly sad view of the lower rungs of Hollywood life in the 30's. Disturbing and unsettling. The climatic sequence is both horrifying and mesmerizing.
April 18, 2010
jay nixon
Super Reviewer
An often surreal but always intriguing morality tale. This film has it's sights set mostly on "Hollywood", with a few "pop shots" at organized religion (which if you think about it is not so different from Hollywood).
Sure the characters are "over the top" and "steretypical", a virtual cornucopia of Hollywood has
beens and hopefuls. But that's kind of the point. It's meant to be a sort of snap-shot of 1930's-40's Hollywood and all that it entailed.
The acting is solid with the casting spot on. Especially Donald Sutherlands performance as Homer Simpson and the seemingly under appreciated William Atherton as Todd Hackett. The cinematography is brilliant, ranging from glorious to bleak but always captivating.
The last 15-20 minutes are genius!
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