Movie Review: The Big Lebowski (1998)

Posted December 20, 2015 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Movie-Comedy, Movie-Neo-Noir / 0 Comments

Title: The Big Lebowski
Released: 1998
Director: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Stars: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston, Tara Reid and Philip Seymour Hoffman
Genre: Neo-Noir/Black Comedy

One of my favourite movies of all time is the Coen Brothers 1998 black comedy The Big Lebowski. Most people have seen this film, but if you have not, it tells the story of Jeffrey ‘The Dude’ Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), an LA slacker who finds himself being mistaken for millionaire Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston). Thugs break into his house demanding money and urinate on his rug before leaving. Since the rug “really tied the room together” The Dude confronts the millionaire Lebowski seeking compensation. This leads to events that have The Dude searching for Jeffrey Lebowski’s kidnapped wife Bunny (Tara Reid).

This is a complex story to try explain, I did not even mention The Dude’s friends Walter (John Goodman), a unpredictable Vietnam veteran and Timid Donny (Steve Buscemi). Not to mention Jeffery Lebowski’s personal assistant Brandt, played by the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman. There is a lot going on within the film and so much of this is worth talking about. I was drawn to The Big Lebowski at a young age for its humour and quotable lines, but now I see the movie in a completely different light.

The Big Lebowski is loosely based on The Big Sleep, a great film noir movie which is in turn based on the Raymond Chandler novel with the same name. In a 1998 interview with Indiewire, Joel Coen said, “We wanted to do a Chandler kind of story – how it moves episodically, and deals with the characters trying to unravel a mystery, as well as having a hopelessly complex plot that’s ultimately unimportant.” I know there are even scenes that pay homage to The Big Sleep (which starred Humphrey Bogart) found in this film but I need to do a rewatch of the classic film to compare. However there are also references to the Disney movie Alice in Wonderland in the movie.

First of all, both The Dude and Alice has similar carefree lives, and they both take a drug that makes them smaller. The similarities do not stop there, Jeffery Lebowski wife’s name is Bunny and the numberplate on her car reads ‘Lapin’ which is the French word for rabbit. You could even compare Walter and Donny to The Walrus and the Carpenter, maybe Maude Lebowski is The Red Queen and Jackie Treehorn is The Mad Hatter, you probably can go on and on making comparisons to the two movies.

However the comparison to The Big Sleep is what interests me the most. Despite the comedy and the colourful aesthetic, The Big Lebowski pays homage to film noir in multiple occasions. The movie makes multiple references to tropes often found in film noir, such as a fall guy, a double cross, a ringer and so on. Do I even have to mention the fact that this film is even set in Los Angeles? Film noir was the result of America’s post-war (World War II) affection for morbid drama, having The Big Lebowski set in post-gulf war time as a similar effect; although America’s involvements in the Middle East were far from over.

Interestingly enough The Big Lebowski was a commercial failure, it only become a cult classic after 9/11. I do believe that the anti-war messages found in this film might have something to do with this. Especially the rants that Walter says about defending his country and what it means to be a Vietnam veteran. This film talks a lot about war almost predicting the state America would be in with their involvement in the Middle East. Something about the way deals with this real issue and the humour seems to speak to fans.

This movie even sparked its own religion, Dudeism, which is actually a registered religion in America; the official name is The Church of the Latter-Day Dude. It is a modern day interpretation of Taoism based on the philosopher of The Dude. Though considered more of a philosophical and lifestyle movement about going with the flow, or remaining cool headed. Rewatching The Big Lebowski reminded me why I love this movie, plus gave me a whole new appreciation for this cult classic.

In A Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes

Posted April 16, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Pulp / 0 Comments

Title: In A Lonely Place (Goodreads)
Author: Dorothy B. Hughes
Published: Penguin, 1947
Pages: 186
Genres: Pulp
My Copy: Personal Copy

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Post World War II Los Angeles, the place you go to find the great American dream, but a stranger is preying on young women. Ex-airman, Dix Steele offers to help his detective friend solve the case and catch the serial killer in the hopes it will help him with the crime novel he is writing. Along the way he meets the luscious Laurel Gray—the femme fatale. The queen of noir, Dorothy B. Hughes blends psychological suspense with conventional hard-boiled and noir styles to give us In a Lonely Place.

Dorothy B. Hughes is known for her crime novels, 14 books primarily in the hard-boiled and noir genre and In a Lonely Place would be her most recognisable. This could be because of the Nicholas Ray adaptation starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame or because of the psychological elements she brings to the genre. A lot of people will compare this novel with Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley and while they are very similar I can’t help but thinking of the works of Jim Thompson as well. This might be because they all share the same influences Kafka, but more importantly Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

In a Lonely Place starts off like a typical noir novel and immediately the reader suspects there is something not quite right with Dix Steele. Could it be the fact that he is pretending to write a crime novel to sponge off his friends and family? Or the fact that he is a cynical misogynist? Maybe, but if you look a little closer at the writing you will find the answer. This is told in the first person but not by Dix Steele himself, like this person is with him at all times and sees everything Dix does. This sets up the psychological portrait of a woman-hating serial killer that really makes this novel work.

Towards the end of the book when Laurel Grey and the detective’s wife discover that Steele himself is the murderer, it comes as no great surprise. The book builds up like this big great reveal but there are so many elements throughout the book that give it away. I don’t think it was ever meant as a twist, just a way for Dix to find out himself. But through the whole book I was waiting and waiting for it to happen, I never really thought it would happen so late in the story.

The movie In a Lonely Place is vastly different to the book; for one thing Dix Steele is a successful screenwriter not a conman pretending to be a crime writer. Also true to Hollywood form, during the whole film everyone suspects Steele to be the killer but he turns out innocent. He still was a cynical vet but he never really had a chip on his shoulder towards the opposite sex, it felt like it was towards everyone. Also femme fatale Laurel Gray really wasn’t sassy or strong minded in the movie which was the biggest disappointment of them all.

Dorothy B. Hughes wanted to expose the misogyny of American society at that time with this book and she did a great job. The end result is this dark psychological tale that the movie adaptation butchered. Problem is I’ve seen the movie many times before finally reading the book, so it took me a long time to really get going. Both stories are worth checking out but trying to connect the film to the book doesn’t really do either of them any justice.

In a Lonely Place is worth reading; it’s nice to read a woman’s take on the noir genre. This really is a male dominated genre but women like Dorothy B. Hughes, Patricia Highsmith and Megan Abbott prove they can write noir just as well. The thing I loved most about this novel was that the influences of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment were written all over this and yet Hughes made it her own. Make sure you check this novel out if you are a fan of hard-boiled, noir or even psychological thrillers.

Tag: Humphrey Bogart