Winter Kills

1979 US William Richert
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I picked up this film-I'd-never-heard-of because it was mentioned in Greencine's "Political Thrillers" primer. Based on a novel by Richard (Manchurian Candidate) Condon; starring Jeff Bridges, Walter Huston, Anthony Perkins; a film "faithful to the book's overall melancholy tone"—what could possibly go wrong? How about this: it's either very, very bad or a freakin' pastiche! Melancholy mood, my ass. Any value the movie possesses is due to a few performances (hint: not Jeff Bridges) or the sheer strength of its unrelenting weirdness. Many of the scenes defy description. Others: Bridges arguing with Pop, then astride a horse, riding to some place up in the mountains (montage) just so that he can scream his frustrations to the wind. Is it stupidity, is it surrealism? I dunno. Whatever the heck it is, I didn't like it. I suppose other people think it's brilliant, so let's chalk it up to my own tonal wiring. I do admit it's colourful, though.