Cookie Pocket - Episode 111 - The Last of Sheila (1973) WITH SPECIAL GUEST ORLY BAUM

[@JimFinger-so9pi]

Was so pleased to see this come in to my queue as I have long been a huge fan of this movie. Very much enjoyed your thoughtful discussion! A few thoughts .... 1) Regarding the cinematography, I saw it in the theater c. 1973, and while the framing wasn't particularly distinctive, the overall look of the movie was quite stunning. 2) It's important to see the movie in context of a Hollywood indictment ... all the characters are show-biz types and utterly amoral ... this is why it's credible that they are at least not visibly "offended" by each other's crimes (recall the 1970s was the time of Roman Polanski's rape of a 13-year old yet he remained enamored nonetheless; decades later, the show biz community still kissed Harvey Weinstein's ring even as awareness of his abuses became more commonly known). 3) There is a score, it's sparse, but effective: check out the vocalizatiion as the film dissolves from Sheila's road side body to the yacht ... the vocalists are intoning a version of La, la, la .... again, this film is so much about Hollywood/La La Land. Finally, the neatest trick of the film is how the viewer dupes him or herself; the conventions of the genre lead us to believe that Clinton was playing his game with an ulterior motive, i.e.- exposing Shela's killer. But that was never the case! Yet that expectation is what keeps us off track and enhances the surprise; love how the expectations of the genre undermine one's ability to solve the mystery.