The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
Directed by Robert Ellis Miller
Thomas C. Ryan from a novel by Carson McCullers
1968/USA
IMDb link
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] Jake Blount: Huh? “John Singer. I am…” Um – a MUTE? Chee-rist! And all this time I thought you was a good listener![/box]
If you are looking for a bittersweet Hollywood movie with some superlative acting, look no further.
This has an involved plot and I’ll be leaving out quite a bit. Alvie Singer (Alan Arkin) is a deaf-mute. His best friend is Antonopoulis, who is also a deaf mute and seems to be mentally retarded as well. Antonopoulis’ custodial relative has him committed to a mental hospital when he gets in trouble one time too many. Singer moves to an even smaller Southern town to be near his friend until he can take custody of him.
Singer rents a room in a home with a complicated family life. He befriends its dreamy 16-year old daughter Mick (Sondra Locke in her film debut). Circumstances make him the favorite listener of several other lonely people. With Stacy Keach (in his film debut) as a drunk; Percy Rodrigues as a pround black physician; and Cecily Tyson as his angry daughter.
I last saw this on original release. It stuck with me (even if I did not see the ending coming yet again) and I loved it this time as well. Arkin is amazing in a detailed, nuanced performance in which his face and demeanor convey a rich interior life that is not guessed at by the many people who lean on him. The supporting players are also uniformly excellent. Recommended.
Alan Arkin was nominated by the Academy for Best Actor. Sondra Lock received a nod for Best Supporting Actress.
