RARA-AVIS: Sentimental Ellroy
daniel Sevitt (sevitt@infolink.net.il)
Thu, 21 May 1998 21:46:56 +0300
I definitely think Ellroy shows a soft side in Since I Don't
Have You. Not
only does he shoe affection for Gretchen and Sid, but he also
turns Buzz
Meeks into a likeable hero. At the end of the story an older
and wiser Meeks
reminisces about the fast times with the Mickster and HH, "It's
tough being
a dangerous old man by yourself." It was sad to read that in
light of the
events that take place at the start of L. A.
Confidential.
For more of the softer, gentler Ellroy, you probably have to go
all the way
back to Brown's Requiem. The eponymous Brown has a bizarre
relationship with
a childhood buddy called Walter. And that is about that.
Does anyone remember the filmed version of Since I Don't Have
You that went
out as part of the Fallen Angels series from HBO. I caught it
on the BBC
about 3-4 years ago. (The series also included Tom Hanks' first
piece as
director which was a Chandler short from one of the collections
starring
Bruno Kirby.) Gary Busey, traditionally a dreadful actor, made
a definitive
Buzz Meeks. His image stayed with me when I read The Big
Nowhere for the
first time. But even more impressive than that was James Woods
as Mickey
Cohen. Truly inspired casting. Of course, that was Woods'
second appearance
in an Ellroy adaptation, but I'll leave you to work out what
his first was.
daniel
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