Bruce Dern stars as Jack Nicholson’s wildly unpredictable brother in THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS
THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS (Bob Rafelson, 1972)
BAMcinématek, BAM Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Saturday, November 23, 3:00, 6:00, 9:45
Series runs through November 27
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
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 on November 23 as part of the BAMcinématek series “Hot Dern!” which pays tribute to the seventy-seven-year-old Dern, the father of Laura Dern and former husband of Diane Ladd, on the occasion of the U.S. theatrical release of Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, for which Dern was named Best Actor at Cannes. The series continues through November 27 with such other wide-ranging Dern films as The Trip, The Driver, The Laughing Policeman, and Smile. In addition, Dern will be at BAM on December 4 for “An Evening with Bruce Dern,” which will include a screening of Nebraska followed by an extended Q&A with the actor.