The Day of the Locust

(USA, 1975, John Schlesinger)

John Schlesinger’s adaptation of Nathanael West’s infamous novel went largely unheralded (mixed reviews and a commercial failure) upon its release in 1975 (and was only released on DVD in 2004). While it fails to capture the grotesque satire of the great novel (“a painfully misconceived reduction and simplification” in Jonathan Rosenbaum’s harsh assessment ), it merits a second look. One could argue that Schlesinger, aided by Conrad Hall’s gorgeous cinematography, captures the corruption and decadence of Tinseltown of yesteryear as well as Polanski did a year earlier in CHINATOWN. I wouldn’t go that far, yet Schlesinger succeeds at what he does best: capturing the pathos and humanity of societal outcasts and misfits detached from reality and lost in fantasy worlds, much as he did in his two best films, MIDNIGHT COWBOY and BILLY LIAR. Donald Suthterland’s Homer Simpson may not be as memorable as Ratso Rizzo, but he is similarly tragic; awkward and ridiculous yet ultimately endearing. It’s also one of his greatest performances (or perhaps I should just go out on a limb and call it his best). The film is rounded out by a an exceptional cast that includes Burgess Meredith (who earned an Oscar nomination for his performance), Karen Black, Bo Hopkins, and William Atherton in an early leading role before he was permanently relegated to minor supporting player status in films like DIE HARD. In THE DAY OF THE LOCUST, all of the characters are minor supporting players caught up in their own Hollywood hell — their dreams of fame and glamour squashed by cruel reality. The creeping nausea and claustrophobia slowly mount to a sense of impending doom. The film’s culmination, a riot that takes place at a movie premiere, is a truly astonishing piece of filmmaking. It will leave you shaking.