I wanted to note the passing of Sidney Lumet.
There have been some surprisingly good discussions of Lumet’s career at both FARK and the Onion A/V Club. I don’t have much to add to those, but I did want to link to one of my favorite moments in a movie; a movie directed by Lumet, of course. Those who know me well, or pay attention to my blog taglines, probably already know which moment that is. But there’s more to it than just Howard Beale yelling “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.” Note how this opens, with the disheveled crazed prophet walking through the rain.
“…all we say is, ‘Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won’t say anything. Just leave us alone.'” How many of us think that?
“You’ve got to say, ‘I’m a HUMAN BEING, God damn it! My life has VALUE!'”
“Things have got to change. But first, you’ve gotta get mad!.”
Much of this is, of course, also attributable to Paddy Chayefsky’s script, and Peter Finch’s acting. But I suspect this would have failed and come off as strident or ridiculous in the hands of a lesser director.