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From the first scene in The Long Goodbye, it's obvious Robert Altman was on to something with casting Elliot Gould as a character (Philip Marlowe) most famously personified by Humphrey Bogart. It isn't just Gould not being Bogart and Gould not being a traditional noir detective in any way (Gould's Marlowe is more concerned with his cat), it's also very simple--it's Elliot Gould. Gould's performance in Long Goodbye is certainly the most different from his traditional performances (the ones he still does today); the most actorly, even though “actorly” isn't a word. But part of Gould's initial effectiveness--before the mystery aspect takes off (and it's Chandler, so it's never about who done it but about the detective trying to find out who done it)--is seeing Gould play this role and not give that traditional performance. For the first few minutes, it creates some disturbance, but Gould's almost immediately successful in his part. Altman waits a little while--giving Goul... |
