An intense Philly DJ (Jack Nicholson) doesn’t exactly find the American dream in THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS
NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL: THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS (Bob Rafelson, 1972)
Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Sunday, September 30, $20, 8:30
Festival runs September 28 – October 14
212-875-5601
www.filmlinc.com
Steeped in 1970s Vietnam War-era angst, Bob Rafelson’s The King of Marvin Gardens examines nothing less than the impending demise of the American dream. Rafelson’s follow-up to Five Easy Pieces stars Jack Nicholson as David Staebler, a Philly DJ who is introduced in a long, dark scene, shot in one take, in which he delivers a fascinating monologue about his grandfather (Charles Lavine) choking on fish bones, setting the stage for this unusual tale about family. David is contacted by his older brother, Jason (Bruce Dern), a small-time hustler caught in a jam in a decaying Atlantic City. Jason has big plans for them, hoping to open a resort casino in Hawaii, along with his girlfriend, Sally (Ellen Burstyn), and younger companion, Jessica (Julia Anne Robinson), whom they are grooming to become Miss America. But a local gangster, Lewis (Scatman Crothers), might have something to say about their future. Nicholson plays David with a calm, introspective, intensely creepy demeanor that provides fine contrast to Dern’s Jason, a loud, up-front, far more outgoing figure. But as brash as Jason is, Dern sometimes has him make major statements with just a quick move of his eyes. Written by Rafelson and journalist and lyricist Jacob Brackman, the film is beautifully shot by master cinematographer László Kovács, who bathes the Atlantic City boardwalk in luridly depressing colors as four unique characters come together in rather strange ways. The King of Marvin Gardens is screening in DCP on September 30 as part of the New York Film Festival Masterworks sidebar, with Rafelson in person to talk about the film, which is now celebrating its fortieth anniversary.