A Reason to Live (1976)
George Kuchar
Chafed Elbows (1966)
Robert Downey Sr.
The Telephone Book (1971)
Nelson Lyon
viewed 02.16.06
I admit to having a vacillating relationship with films like these. I recognize them as depraved and juvenile, and at the same time I am awed by their humor and provocation. Watching them I was reminded of absurdity and scorn of Luis Buñuel and Owen Land as well as the insolence of Dada writers. What many would see as an internecine display of sex and depravity, captivated and inspired me by its recklessness and candor.
Chafed Elbows was the gem of the screening and Downey (father of the actor) is a new obsession. A strange comedy about a young man and his unspeakable relationship with his mother, Chafed Elbows, delivers a barrage of non-sequiters, one-liners, and obscure referencess that vilify everything from pychoanalysis and philosophy to filmmaking and welfare, with special consideration made for the NYPD.
I probably wouldn't have much of an argument for those who ask how this improves me. I can't exactly say it does. But if Downey and the artists like him have a virtue, it is that they have zero interest in anyone finding them acceptable. There is no compromise is their work. I remember operating a boom mic on a small project that involved professional actors. A character kept using clichés and they where trying to find one about time management. A rather risque one was offered and while it was funny and worked, the actors were all uncomfortable with it. You could see them all calculating how this might affect getting work in car commercials, or whether their Mom might see this.
I'm not entirely mocking them, I have the exact same thoughts. I am constantly plagueded by concerns of what people will think of me. How many times a day do I nod and say "I know that you mean" when my mind is screaming "I couldn't disagree more!" Last week my boss's boss was commenting on the style of shoe everyone in the room had on. When he skipped mine, I was planning a shopping trip. When did impressing him with footwear become a priority? I don't even want to work there.
The 1967 New York Times review of Chafed Elbows begins "One of these days, Robert Downey... is going to clean himself up a good bit, wash the dirty words out of his mouth and do something worth mature attention." I'm bored already. What the reviewer means is that one of these days Robert Downey will make films that look and sound like everyone else's. Thank God he doesn't. Thank God he has the courage to ignore the crowd and challenges us to do the same. Being true - presenting yourself uncensoreded - doesn't mean living or making work like these filmmakers. My vision of life and the things I want to say are are not the same as Downey's. But what I often lack, and they possess, is the tenacity say those things clearly.
Truck Turner (1974)
