When movie stars invite their children to act
with them, the results usually range from embarrassing to forgettable—but every
so often, something like Paper Moon happens. Featuring a spectacular
debut performance by preteen Tatum O’Neal and a charmingly gruff star turn by
her famous father, Ryan O’Neal, the movie both satisfies and undercuts audience
expectations of what might occur when real-life relatives perform together
onscreen. The movie has heart, but more importantly, it has edge—since many of the
best scenes in Paper Moon feature the O’Neals sparring with each other,
it’s impossible to mistake the picture for a softhearted love letter from a
father to a daughter. Somehow, producer-director Peter Bogdanovich sensed a vein of natural
conflict in the dynamic between the O’Neals, and then the filmmaker channeled
that conflict into the fictional relationship of a 1930s con man and a girl who
may or may not be his daughter.
Better still, Bogdanovich ensured that the
sparks flying between the O’Neals were only part of the movie’s appeal. In
addition to the memorable father-daughter acting, Paper Moon features
crisp storytelling, sparkling dialogue, stunning black-and-white
cinematography, and vivacious supporting performances. It’s a near-masterpiece
that only happens to contain effective stunt casting.
Masterfully adapted by Alvin
Sargent from a novel by Joe David Brown, Paper Moon takes place during
the Depression, hence Bogdanovich’s choice to present the story with monochromatic
visuals that evoke the photography of the Depression era. Flimflam artist Moses
Pray (Ryan O’Neal) attends the funeral of a former lover, where he meets
scrappy nine-year-old Addie Loggins (Tatum O’Neal), whom he realizes might be
his daughter. Through delightfully contrived circumstances—the plot comes
together with Swiss-watch precision that echoes Moses’ elaborate scams—Addie
pressures Moses into taking her along for a lengthy auto journey. A quick
study, Addie finds a role for herself in Moses’ principal scheme of selling
personalized Bibles to the widows of recently deceased men, so the main characters’ natural instinct for bonding gets sublimated into the formation of
a criminal enterprise.
Bogdanovich milks this perverse premise for all it’s
worth, opting for the rich drama of betrayals, disappointments, and
double-crosses instead of trying for easy sentimentality. Yet woven into nearly
every scene of the movie is deftly crafted humor, an element maximized by the
impeccable comic timing of Bogdanovich’s actors. In fact, one of the juiciest
subplots involves Moses’ relationship with a woman of ill repute named Trixie
Delight, played by the magnificent comedienne Madeline Kahn, who made her
big-screen debut in Bogdanovich’s hit farce What’s
Up Doc? (1972). Demonstrating the skill of the film’s narrative
construction, the speed with which Moses throws over Addie in order to court
Trixie reveals the limitations of Moses’ integrity and the sad fate awaiting
Addie unless Moses grows a conscience.
While sensitive character work is ultimately
what makes Paper Moon meaningful, the style is what makes the movie
sing. Working with cinematographer Lászlo Kovács, Bogdanovich creates intimate
textures throughout Paper Moon, especially during long takes that the
director fills with rat-a-tat dialogue. Like the best of Bogdanovich’s early
movies, Paper Moon feels handcrafted, with equal care given to
characterization, emotion, mood, pace, and tone.
As such, if there’s a minor
complaint that one could make about Paper Moon, it’s that Bogdanovich
seems just as concerned with announcing his incandescent talent as he is in
telling the story. But then again, since Paper Moon was made when the
very gifted director was at the height of his powers, it’s hard to blame him
for showboating. And since the film earned an Academy Award for Tatum O’Neal
(making her the youngest-ever winner of a competitive acting Oscar), as well as
a nomination for screenwriter Sargent, the director’s grandstanding clearly did
not obscure the remarkable contributions of his collaborators.
Paper
Moon: RIGHT ON
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