Half-thought through review

First thought: Beautifully filmed. Parodoxically subtle and not-subtle (humor) at the same time. Superb acting all-around—right down the line. Tom Courtenay is about as good as it gets. Face.

Second thought: This is a captivating movie, but the narrative (in my humble) seems to trap itself at minute 53, and then it un-tethers. I was going to say if you didn’t like Blow-up, that this could be your antidote. But now I’m not so sure. Well, maybe the ending brings it back to task.

Word to the obsessed note: the protagonist, Billy, clearly inspired Kubrick’s version of Alex in A Clockwork Orange (his waywardness with his parents, society, his joie de vivre). Also note, same guy who is Shadrack (Leonard Rossiter) is also in 2001 (1968) and then Barry Lyndon (1975). See.