They Live By Night
Posted by martinteller on April 19, 2008
Having seen Thieves Like Us, I found this material pretty familiar. I think Altman’s is slightly more interesting, largely because of the casting. Keith Carradine isn’t that great, but he’s definitely more appealing than boring ol’ Farley Granger. And Cathy O’Donnell lacks the goofy charm of Shelley Duvall. Otherwise, however, I feel the same way about both films: not bad, not great. I’ve been rather unimpressed with Nicholas Ray so far. He seems to me to be in the same category as Sam Fuller… a director who did competent but unexceptional movies, but somehow gathered a cult following just for being ever so slightly off the beaten Hollywood path. Rating: 7
