Even a cynical soul such as myself can't resist the allure of a good private eye flick. Throw in an actor like Paul Newman, and my viewership is pretty much a done deal. Such is the case with Harper, a picture that adapted the sort of hard-boiled antihero so commonplace in the 1940s for audiences in the turbulent 1960s.
While not a completely devout hipster, Newman's character isn't your grandfather's gumshoe, adopting a more relaxed and less conventional personality than most screen detectives were previously awarded. That doesn't necessarily mean that Harper is a crackerjack flick, but it's good to know at least someone at the time was thinking outside the box.
Newman stars as Lew Harper, an L.A.-based private investigator who's a far cry from the likes of Spade and Marlowe. Harper is the sort of guy you're more likely to find snoozing in a McDonald's parking lot than cruising the back alleys for criminal ilk. But once he's on the job, there's no tearing him away from cracking the lid open on the toughest of cases.
Harper's latest assignment brings him to the spacious villa of Elaine Sampson (Lauren Bacall), a socialite whose hubby has mysteriously vanished. A notorious philanderer, Harper first thinks he just took off with one of his latest flings. But after rooting around in the missing man's affairs, rubbing elbows with everyone from a cult leader (Strother Martin) to a washed-up actress (Shelley Winters), he comes to the conclusion that the solution can't be so simple. Harper suspects that foul play is afoot, and despite a story that grows more convoluted with every turn, he's hell-bent on solving the case — even if it kills him.
What sets Harper apart from other detective-based film noirs is its sense of self-awareness. You know how in every James Bond movie, the villain has an obligatory evil scheme, yet the specifics often don't matter whatsoever? The fun comes from seeing not their devious plots unfold but rather how Bond's feats of derring-do gum up the works. Harper works along the same wavelength; it establishes from the start that its central mystery is a load of malarkey, so all that's left is to watch Newman's titular character react to everything going on around him. He does this with a modicum of prototypical private eye one-liners and an abundance of detached coolness. It's not hard to see shades of The Big Lebowski in the way the story plays out, as Harper apathetically addresses the quirky personalities surrounding him while remaining steadfast in his pursuit of fulfilling one single goal. Newman approaches his part with great dexterity, simultaneously saluting the film detective and turning its collectively cliched nature on its ear. The way he handles Harper's sarcastic yet grizzled nature is a real testament to the man's acting skills.
.jpg?t=20120527181101)
Article comments