Night Moves

The work of director Arthur Penn can be seen as one of the links between classical and New Hollywood. His films are based on tried-and-tested Hollywood formulas, but he introduces new stylistic, narrative, and ideological elements that modify and subvert these classic genres. This is one of the reasons why Penn is often referred to as an overseas ally of the French New Wave. Penn’s revisionism is evident in his westerns The Left Handed Gun (1958) and Little Big Man (1970), the famous gangster film Bonnie and Clyde (1967), and the neo-noir Night Moves, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. The late Gene Hackman plays the old-fashioned private detective Harry Moseby, who is hired by a Hollywood actress past her prime to find her missing daughter Delly (played by Melanie Griffith in her debut role). However, Harry soon discovers that his professional code and working methods are completely incompatible with the omnipresent corruption and depravity… (mh)