TheBigSick Fast paced, well acted, tautly directed, and carefully scripted, this superb thriller, in a realistic way, develops a gut-wrenching story, depicts some memorable characters and above all represents the filmmaking of the highest level. It is so dark that you almost feel despair about the world. The dramatic tension is raised a historically new height. If you use one word to describe the movie, then it should be jaw-dropping, which means that you will never close your mouth until the end of the movie.

Kyle Perez Now how many films could get away with a line like that? Among other memorable lines include, "You're dead, son. Get yourself buried", "I'd hate to take a bite outta you. You're a cookie full of arsenic", and "Your mouth is as big as a basket and twice as empty". One could argue that Alexander Mackendrick's amorality tale is most remembered for its slickly written screenplay, boasting one sharp one-liner after another. However, the film also succeeds in utilizing its top-notch cast (led masterfully by Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis) set against the backdrop of an atmospheric New York City to the tune of a fittingly accompanied jazz score - never has the city appeared as charming as it does sinister, with its shadowy presence and dark undertones felt throughout the film. To immerse yourself in this film is to hypnotically experience the 'City that Never Sleeps' as a setting of estrangement, overcrowded sidewalks, excessive street noise and the smoke-filled nightclubs and bars.The story is of Sidney Falco and JJ Hunsecker. JJ is a powerful jazz columnist while Falco is an unprincipled press agent much of whose success is contingent on getting that next big story into Hunsecker's column. ("Exactly how does a press agent work?", a man asks him. To which Falco responds, "A press agennt eats a columnist's dirt and is expected to call it manna".) JJ is unhappy with his sister's latest romance with a jazz guitarist named Steve Dallas and seeks out Falco to break it up. We remember these names because these are some highly memorable characters; they talk fast, talk smart and use their charm to persuade people to do what they want from them. Together, both Curtis and Lancaster project a cynicism and otherworldly pizazz that almost transcend their own surroundings. Consider also the script's persistent attribution of its characters to dogs ("Tell me sir, when he dies, do you think he'll go to the dog and cat heaven?") I think what's most compelling about these characters is not so much their complete disregard for human emotion but rather how their hunger and drive for dirt on anyone will come at any cost. Both Falco and JJ are constantly scheming and conniving in their pursuit for success, that 'sweet' smell of it. It's intoxicating to them and their aggressive wordplay distracts us from the true lack of elegance these men have. At their core, their sleaze balls and toy with innocents like puppeteers as a means for personal gain. This kind of greed and narcissism is maybe more relevant today than it was back then and understandably makes this film timeless in its themes and characters. Overall, it's a black and white film whose morals are anything BUT black and white. "I love this dirty town", JJ states in the film's beginning. He's right about the dirty part...

hazelpicture This movie, to me, was all about language. Every character had something to say. They had a joke, a catch phrase, a little bit of information, etc. This well very well written for a movie produced by a Hollywood actor. Tony Curtis plays a very good character to easily hate. I enjoy characters that are easy to hate, and Tony Curtis plays the perfect weasel thats a bitch for someone more powerful than him. And there was the beautiful female, who was the fulcrum to the whole movie. She was the main headline for eighty percent of the characters that had an impact in the film. I would love to watch this movie with a bunch of Italian taxi drivers for some reason

ninabruzdzinski This movie was filmed really well. It had a complex set of characters as well as plot. I also love the shots the camera got of New York City and all the different angles as well as lighting. I especially loved the scene where JJ was looking out at the city from a few floors up out an open window, and it was nighttime and you could see all the lights of the city, and then a few seconds later it was the same shot except New York City in the morning. It had a quiet mis-en-scene about it and I really enjoyed the immediacy of the contrasting lighting of the scene. JJ was such a strong and intimidating character, I found it a little hard to like him at times, especially when it came to passively threatening his sister. Overall though, the film was really great in my opinion and I think I would watch it again, just to get a fuller understanding of everything that happened.