Both the opening shot and the soundtrack blaring Blondie's "Call Me" welcome viewers not only to the movie, but more importantly to the 1980's. The music, the clothes, the vapidity and the vanity...this is what defined the 80's and this is Paul Schrader's American Gigolo.If there ever was a movie destined to be reviewed by a blog with "Venetian Blinds" in its title, American Gigolo is that movie. AG is by no means a masterpiece, it -- like its main character -- is somewhat empty, hollow and not quite fully realized. But also like Julian Kay (Richard Gere), AG possesses many charms, most notably John Bailey's cinematography. In lieu of drowning AG with words, I'm going borrow inspiration from the wonderful film blog Moon in the Gutter and let the images speak for themselves:
Yes indeed, Richard Gere's cock. Thankfully it wasn't Travolta's schlong we had to spy. In case you didn't know, Gere was a last minute replacement for JT.
Great sunglasses. Very feminine. Very Peter Bogdanovich.
An homage to Ozu?
This is a pivotal scene where the shifting venetian's shadows and reflected images in the mirror act as visual metaphors to reveal a crucial turning point for Julian.
As far as thrillers go, AG is perhaps a little on the un-engaging side. While it does share many stylistic similarities to the work of Brian DePalma, Schrader proves to be less concerned with technique and aesthetics and much more fascinated by the underlying psychology of his characters. While DePalma's films tend to be over-the-top, AG is anything but the opposite; this may interest some, but it will surely bore others. One thing remains certain: few films established the 80's in the same way.
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