Sidney Lumet's attempt to transfer the pop-art world of the French Nouvelle Vague to Jewish New York is - at least to my way of thinking - a total failure. For all its nerdy talk and incessant chatter about John Ford's films and Randolph Scott festivals, about Smilin' Jack being married and the demise of Orphan Annie, the script (outside of maybe two or three lines) just isn't funny. Well, perhaps I should say that I didn't find it the least bit amusing. In fact, I would describe it as a tedious bore, reinforced by Lumet's inept, plodding direction. And alas, I would describe the whole movie as almost totally inept in almost all departments. Only one sequence - a journey through New York in a red Volkswagon, accompanied by a bright music score - has any flair or vitality. And alas, this is also the only time that the cinematography by Boris Kaufmann comes anywhere near his usual high standard.
Review of Bye Bye Braverman
