Performance

Yesterday, I revisited a classic cult film from 1970 that a lot of people don't seem to talk much about today, Performance. Here's my thoughts.

Edward Fox stars as Chas, a very violent mobster who goes into hiding after his temper has gotten him in trouble with his boss who now wants him out of the picture. He rents out a basement from a reclusive musician named Turner, Mick Jagger. He tells Turner that he is in the entertainment business, but Turner doesn't trust him. He introduces Chas to a world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll and the two begin to take on each others traits, both in looks and personality.

This a very trippy film from directors Nicolas Roeg and Donald Cammell. I'm a huge fan of Roeg's, and he is a master when it comes to this kind of material. It is very similar in tone to his films The Man Who Fell To Earth and Track 29. Cammell wrote the screenplay and originally intended it to be more of a comedic film with Marlon Brando in the Chas role. But the more he worked on it, the darker it became and Brando dropped out. With Jagger in the lead, the studio was expecting more of A Hard Day's Night kind of movie. They stayed out of Roeg's and Cammell's way and were probably pretty shocked with the way the movie turned out. Supposedly the studio brass wanted the film destroyed after the wife of one of them vomited at a screening. After several edits, the film finally made it to theaters, but was originally a bomb with both critics and audiences. It finally became a hit when it made the midnight movie circuit and is today considered a classic.

Jagger is quite good as the drugged out Turner. Roeg has a knack for directing musicians. Case in point, David Bowie in The Man Who Fell To Earth. Fox is also great as Chas. Best known for playing stuffy Brits, Fox actually spent time with some real life gangsters to get his role down.

Performance is a bizarre film, but one I enjoy immensely.

It's available on dvd and blu ray via Warner Archive.