The Movie Room

Made in U.S.A 1966, directed by Jean-Luc Godard

Rating: 1/10

I love Jean-Luc Godard’s other films I have seen (which isn’t many, but still!) and I love bright colors, so when I bought this movie based off the DVD cover, I thought I would love it. I’ve watched it a few times now, and no matter how I try to go about it, I do not like this movie.

I’ve seen people describe this as an “anti-” movie in several regards, whether it is anti-noir, anti-mystery, or anti-film itself, but even though its insufferable qualities may be on purpose, that doesn’t make them any less insufferable. On this latest rewatch, I knew I wouldn’t change my mind on it as soon as Anna Karina has her first interaction with someone and she keeps pulling the trigger on an empty gun and the man she is aiming at does exaggerated acting tics for every pull of the trigger. It is over the top and purposely false, which are things I can deal with (I love The Threepenny Operaspecifically due to all its outright falsity) but as presented here it is just obnoxious. All the actors’ performances, every cut, every music cue, every directorial choice—it screams “aren’t we clever? We made The Big Sleep more opaque than ever!” Admittedly The Big Sleep isn’t one of my favorite urtexts (I love The Big Lebowski, but I more appreciate than enjoy the Humphrey Bogart Big Sleep or the Paul Thomas Anderson film Inherent Vice), but even given my lack of love for the source text, this specific version using obviousness to enact obfuscation is not for me.

What makes this film extra frustrating for me is that the colors are so bright and beautiful, and the visual compositions are gorgeous, and the outfits Anna Karina wears are some of the great all-time film costumes. I would love a hard-boiled film noir with a female private eye who dresses like Anna Karina does here, as long as it is not this movie. If this film was made into a book of photographs inspired by The Big Sleep, it would be an A+ and probably my favorite version of that text. But film is not solely a visual medium, so all the technical merit and talent behind this film is wasted on me. I’m all for experimentation, but the results here are a beautiful mess; no matter how much I might love seeing any stills from it, it is not worth sitting through even the less than 85-minute runtime. 

I don’t think any movie is completely without merit, so even though this is a 1/10, I am still happy I own it. It is a fascinating study in adaptation as it takes inspiration from classic literature and film, and it is gorgeous to look at. But still, it is not a movie I would choose to watch again if my only criteria is “having a good time.” This is definitely one of those kinds of movies that I dislike but would understand if someone were to tell me it is their favorite movie ever.