I ended up seeing Night Moves (1975) about a month before this Criterion edition came out, due to the passing of its star, Gene Hackman. I will admit, I thought the film was fine, though many people consider it to be a much better film than I did. Hackman’s performance is great, he completely inhabits the role of the disinterested detective. The story revolves around a missing girl (played by Melanie Griffith) in which she is found quite easily and early in the film. However, the story evolves into something less clear cut and more complicated. Hackman is reunited with director Arthur Penn who gave Hackman his big break in Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde (1967). The film also has a few future stars in early roles, the aforementioned Melanie Griffith and James Woods, who has a small role as a mechanic and an ex lover of Griffith’s character and who has a few memorable scenes opposite Hackman. Griffith plays the missing girl and naturally is featured heavily, given her importance to the plot, and controversially some of her nude scenes were filmed when she was underage.
Gene Hackman plays Harry Moseby, a private eye who is somewhat in a rut. His business is slow, and it’s affecting his marriage (he finds out his wife is cheating on him later in the film). He gets multiple offers to leave the P.I. business but doesn’t take them, to the disappointment of his wife who does not see the private detective business as lucrative. He ends up getting a job to find Delly (Griffith), a 16 year old girl whose mother needs her around to have access to Delly’s trust fund. He ends up finding her with her stepfather in the Florida Keys. Hackman plays the role well, showcasing Moseby’s lackadaisical attitude to his occupation and to the case. He ends up sleeping with the stepfather’s girlfriend while in Florida. Partly I’d say because of his wife’s betrayal and partly because the marriage at that point was most likely over. While Hackman is great in the role, it’s considerably different from any other Hackman performance I have seen; there are a few times he shows his classic ferocity but I felt the performance was fairly muted.
While I did have my issues with the story, the ending is easily one of the best, if not the best part of the film and cements it as one of the more memorable thrillers of the 70s.
The story I found to be one of the weaker aspects, despite leading the viewer to believe the case is a cut and dry missing persons case, it devolves into a pretty confusing mess at times. I did have some trouble knowing what was going on sometimes. It was a little muddled and hard to follow. While I did have my issues with the story, the ending is easily one of the best, if not the best part of the film and cements it as one of the more memorable thrillers of the 70s.
The Criterion 4k and Blu-Ray release came out in April and watching it is a great way to honour the recently departed Gene Hackman. I had not heard about before Criterion announced its release and I do think it is an underseen Hackman film. While it definitely isn’t what I would consider his best or a favourite role of his, it should still be seen by fans. My problems didn’t have anything to do with Hackman’s performance, which is typically good, rather my issue was with the screenplay and plotting. While Night Moves is never messy, it was muddled and convoluted at the best of times.
Night Moves from Criterion comes in either a Double 4K & Blu-Ray release or just a standard Blu-Ray. Some of the extras coming in the shape of a commentary with Matthew Asprey Gear, two interviews with Arthur Penn, an interview with Jennifer Warren (the female lead), a feature on the production and an essay by Mark Harris.
Night Moves is out now on Criterion Collection UK 4K Blu-Ray
Ben’s Archive – Night Moves (1975)
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