The first hour of the film is 4 and a half stars. The next 45 minutes is 3 stars.
The last 15 minutes is 1 and a half stars.
This was my third time watching and I really really want to like it. The first half is sooooo good. But then it just gets dumber, and the filmmaking more rushed and sloppy. The tacked on ending is terrible.
Peter Falk and John Cassavetes deliver good performances and the ending is very powerful. But, Elaine May's technical direction is extremely sloppy. Hardly any shot matches the next shot, and there even some shots where it looks like the tripod is starting to fall over and then someone catches it. I couldn't believe how some of these shots made it into the final film. They looked like mistakes to me. And then the transitions from scene to scene were extremely jagged. I understand this had a troubled post-production... and it shows.
