Time is one sneaky thief.
Less than a decade before he played an Oscar-winning geriatric in "On Golden Pond" (and was too weak in real life to collect his award), Henry Fonda could still convincingly play a deadly gunfighter who is just 51. In the memorable opening scene of "My Name Is Nobody," we watch him effectively deal with three would-be assassins without ruffling the shaving cream on his chin.
Nobody does it better than Jack Beauregard. That's his biggest problem; Nobody (Terence Hill) is the name of his dogged follower and apparent rival, not so much because Nobody's trying to kill Beauregard directly but because he wants to see him take on the deadliest gang in the West. Nobody has a bad case of hero worship, it seems, and wants Jack to be remembered as one of the greats.
"Someone like you ought to go out with style," Nobody tells Jack.
Style is something "My Name Is Nobody" has going for it in spades. Directed by Tonino Valerii with assistance from producer and concept originator Sergio Leone, "My Name Is Nobody" looks gorgeous and sounds even better with a lively if sometimes overly cute Ennio Morricone score. Fans of Leone's "Dollars" trilogy and "Once Upon A Time In The West" will recognize the use of close-ups, depth of field, odd sounds, and long stretches of men staring at each other and making the audience uncomfortable. It's all good, to a point.
What it lacks is any real story. Beyond the concept, there's not much to make the characters move, or engage us as an audience. This becomes painfully evident 40 minutes in, when Nobody shoots down a dwarf on stilts for no reason except easy laughs. After that, the film wobbles from set-piece to set-piece with little time for exposition or establishing structure. The tone veers from serious suspense to goofball comedy so quickly it doesn't feel like there are any directors behind this movie, let alone two of them.
Which sequences did Leone direct? The opening bears either his fingerprints or that of a quality imitator. The film has a big ending, too, Beauregard facing the "Wild Bunch" with Nobody looking on, but after an impressive build that sequence comes off as slapdash and pretty lame, especially if you are a horse lover. One comment here links Leone to just three brief comic scenes, including one that takes place at a urinal involving an engineer with a bad prostate that is the film's longest, most painful waste of time.
"Nobody" does keep you watching, even as it gets more and more outlandish. It's like a fun house even before it actually winds up in one. Through it all, Fonda retains a tired majesty that wears well here, as believably threatening as he was in "...In The West" but genial in the right places. Nobody is both a clown as well as one of those omniscient killers like The Man With No Name or Harmonica were in past Leone films. He and Beauregard develop a nice rapport over the course of the movie.
"Just like the good old days!" Nobody enthuses, after Beauregard shoots four shots through the same hole in Nobody's hat.
"There never was any 'good old days,'" Beauregard answers.
The film never builds enough on moments like these. Instead of having much time together, the main characters keep breaking off so they can come together again in another set-piece sequence to show off their skills and the director's way with a camera, whichever director that happens to be. Yes, Fonda's great to watch here, and Hill can be fun as well. Still "Nobody" winds up being a film of some inventiveness yet minimal engagement.
Less than a decade before he played an Oscar-winning geriatric in "On Golden Pond" (and was too weak in real life to collect his award), Henry Fonda could still convincingly play a deadly gunfighter who is just 51. In the memorable opening scene of "My Name Is Nobody," we watch him effectively deal with three would-be assassins without ruffling the shaving cream on his chin.
Nobody does it better than Jack Beauregard. That's his biggest problem; Nobody (Terence Hill) is the name of his dogged follower and apparent rival, not so much because Nobody's trying to kill Beauregard directly but because he wants to see him take on the deadliest gang in the West. Nobody has a bad case of hero worship, it seems, and wants Jack to be remembered as one of the greats.
"Someone like you ought to go out with style," Nobody tells Jack.
Style is something "My Name Is Nobody" has going for it in spades. Directed by Tonino Valerii with assistance from producer and concept originator Sergio Leone, "My Name Is Nobody" looks gorgeous and sounds even better with a lively if sometimes overly cute Ennio Morricone score. Fans of Leone's "Dollars" trilogy and "Once Upon A Time In The West" will recognize the use of close-ups, depth of field, odd sounds, and long stretches of men staring at each other and making the audience uncomfortable. It's all good, to a point.
What it lacks is any real story. Beyond the concept, there's not much to make the characters move, or engage us as an audience. This becomes painfully evident 40 minutes in, when Nobody shoots down a dwarf on stilts for no reason except easy laughs. After that, the film wobbles from set-piece to set-piece with little time for exposition or establishing structure. The tone veers from serious suspense to goofball comedy so quickly it doesn't feel like there are any directors behind this movie, let alone two of them.
Which sequences did Leone direct? The opening bears either his fingerprints or that of a quality imitator. The film has a big ending, too, Beauregard facing the "Wild Bunch" with Nobody looking on, but after an impressive build that sequence comes off as slapdash and pretty lame, especially if you are a horse lover. One comment here links Leone to just three brief comic scenes, including one that takes place at a urinal involving an engineer with a bad prostate that is the film's longest, most painful waste of time.
"Nobody" does keep you watching, even as it gets more and more outlandish. It's like a fun house even before it actually winds up in one. Through it all, Fonda retains a tired majesty that wears well here, as believably threatening as he was in "...In The West" but genial in the right places. Nobody is both a clown as well as one of those omniscient killers like The Man With No Name or Harmonica were in past Leone films. He and Beauregard develop a nice rapport over the course of the movie.
"Just like the good old days!" Nobody enthuses, after Beauregard shoots four shots through the same hole in Nobody's hat.
"There never was any 'good old days,'" Beauregard answers.
The film never builds enough on moments like these. Instead of having much time together, the main characters keep breaking off so they can come together again in another set-piece sequence to show off their skills and the director's way with a camera, whichever director that happens to be. Yes, Fonda's great to watch here, and Hill can be fun as well. Still "Nobody" winds up being a film of some inventiveness yet minimal engagement.