Maidstone

Starring: Norman Mailer, Rip Torn, Beverly Bentley, Jose Torres, Buzz Farber, Ultra Violet, Joy Bang, Jean Campbell
Directed by: Norman Mailer
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Drama
1970

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A famous and polarizing film director (Norman Mailer) runs for President.

Review:

Tim: After pretty much despising Norman Mailer's first two films, I wasn't quite sure what to think about Maidstone. It's his most famous film and contains an infamous hammer scene, but Wild 90 and Beyond the Law set a very low bar. I have to say that Maidstone is Mailer's piece de resistance. It is substantially better than his first two films. Now, I need to stress that this is entirely in relation to the other two movies. Maidstone, like Mailer's other films, is terrible. He really is an awful director. However, there's a few things about this one that make it slightly easier to swallow.

I almost don't want to go right into Rip Torn's hammer attack scene, but truly, it's the most memorable, entertaining, and wonderful part of the entire movie. The fact that it was totally unscripted and beats anything else Mailer intentionally filmed says a lot about how bad the rest of the movie is. I have to say that I loved this scene and was fascinated by it. I give Mailer a ton of credit for including it in his movie. It makes absolutely no sense in the context of the film, as Mailer and Torn refer to each other by their actual names and Torn goes on a rant about the movie itself. Fortunately, the rest of the movie is so bad that it doesn't really matter that this scene is the conclusion- it's not like we were invested in the characters or the story anyway.

I've watched the scene twice and I have to admit, I don't completely understand it. I read a few accounts of what happened, including Torn's, and it still doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Maybe it was part of the method acting or maybe it was venting frustrations, but it certainly looks like an unprovoked hammer attack. To see Torn hit Mailer in the head several times with a hammer is somewhat jarring. As the two men wrestle to the ground, others (including Mailer's wife) realize this isn't pretend and panic. Amidst the screaming, Mailer's kids witnessing this scene, and Torn's weird rant, this scene is unlike anything I've ever seen. I don't think I'll ever forget the crazy look in Torn's eyes. My favorite moment might be his "Up yours" line that is funny and chilling at the same time. Neither Torn nor Mailer come out of the scene looking especially good, which is again a credit to Mailer for including this. I don't want to go into more detail because it's just one scene, but it ends the film on by far the highest note. It was a great ending to an awful film.

Outside of this scene, the movie is pretty disappointing. It's significantly better than Mailer's other films. The technical side isn't atrocious, you can mostly hear the actors. The story isn't great, though. It showcases Mailer's cringe-worthy machismo and chauvinism. The scenes where Mailer's character is working on his brothel film were a bit ludicrous and mildly interesting at best. This is balanced with his presidential campaign scenes, which are mostly people talking to him about his views and platform. I'm kind of grimacing as I attempt to describe it. It's all a bit odd and only somewhat entertaining. There's not enough here in terms of character or story to hold our attention for nearly two hours.

Honestly, I don't want to talk more about Norman Mailer. I hated his first two films and although the hammer scene was incredibly cool, the rest of the movie is more than lackluster. I suppose I'm glad I watched this movie because it gave Torn's infamous scene some context. Truly, at the end of watching three of Mailer's films, I felt really glad Torn whacked the guy upside the head. Mailer tried to do something different with his movies and he succeeded in making them different. Sadly, he failed in making any of them (including Maidstone) any good.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 4



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Wild 90, Beyond the Law