A 1972 film by Bob Rafelson, "The King of Marvin Gardens" stars Jack Nicholson and Bruce Dern as a pair of brothers. Dern plays a fast-talking idealist, Nicholson plays a morose realist. The two gather in Atlantic City, where Dern attempts to convince his brother that an audacious business venture will prove profitable. Nicholson doesn't believe him.
The political and social events of the 1960s and 70s eventually became catalysts for disillusionment. Within the space of a few years, a generation of Americans shifted from optimism, hope and idealism to disenchantment and distrust. "The King of Marvin Gardens", its title an ironic reference to one of the more exclusive properties on the Monopoly board game, captures this Zeitgeist well. Virtually every scene features our duo battling a landscape which refuses to actualise any and all dreams, before the film ends with a bloody climax in which our dreamers get shot down. This makes for grim viewing, but Nicholson's quietly engrossing, and Rafelson constructs a number of strong, surreal scenes.
7.9/10 – Worth one viewing. See "Go Go Tales".
The political and social events of the 1960s and 70s eventually became catalysts for disillusionment. Within the space of a few years, a generation of Americans shifted from optimism, hope and idealism to disenchantment and distrust. "The King of Marvin Gardens", its title an ironic reference to one of the more exclusive properties on the Monopoly board game, captures this Zeitgeist well. Virtually every scene features our duo battling a landscape which refuses to actualise any and all dreams, before the film ends with a bloody climax in which our dreamers get shot down. This makes for grim viewing, but Nicholson's quietly engrossing, and Rafelson constructs a number of strong, surreal scenes.
7.9/10 – Worth one viewing. See "Go Go Tales".