Arthur Newman is not so much a failure as a story as it is a failure as a movie. Quirky and extreme as the characters may be, they do face the human problem of opting for stasis or change. Both choices require a kind of courage. Both choices are usually entered into or denied existence without full comprehension of their actually being choices. Terre Haute, the destination/objective that fails to reinvent, wash away, the memories and humanity of the main characters in this movie might stand for anything that brings relief to the living from life. The sex games played in the movie are a drug, a temporary respite, an aside to what is important in this story of choices faced. It is also why this movie fails as the art piece it aspires to be. But the failure is only a nod, a compromise to the commercial requirements of the film industry. So what's new.
QUESTION: Can anyone tell me the ties this film has to the work of Richard Brautigan? Brautigan is mentioned deep and fleetingly in the credits.
QUESTION: Can anyone tell me the ties this film has to the work of Richard Brautigan? Brautigan is mentioned deep and fleetingly in the credits.