Customer Reviews

Coming Apart

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

They don't make movies like this anymore. Released in 1969, "Coming Apart" died fast at the box office (you can get the sad details from the director's "essay" included on the DVD) and was virtually unseen by anyone for the next 30 years. Its belated release on video should change that, however.

The plot: A psychiatrist (Rip Torn) sets up a hidden camera in his apartment, which covertly records his liaisons with the unsuspecting women who end up in his lair. (Note: this movie is NOT for the kids.) Filmed (in black & white) entirely on a single set, with very little camera movement, it strongly resembles those old Warhol shorts, as well as the '60s underground flick "David Holzman's Diary," which employs roughly the same gimmick. Stars Torn and Kirkland really tear through the scenery--sometimes literally. The deliberately static style gives the proceedings a cozy intimacy and a convincingly "natural" look... but you'll probably wish, as I did, that it weren't quite so slow moving. It's a fairly interesting experiment, though, and a welcome change of pace from the manufactured junk of contemporary Hollywood cinema.

KATIEThe fact that Joe is a psychiatrist (Although the film would have been just as interesting if Joe had been a writer/novelist), is staying in an apartment in Kips Bay (Manhattan), and is The Prize for a slew of females, young and older, is extremely interesting. What man doesn't dream about having a bevy of beautiful women come to his Manhattan apartment to seduce him?
It's also very interesting that Ginsberg wrote that the Lolita character said that she,"...trusted.." Joe BEFORE he tried to make a move on her AFTER she went topless for him! I wonder what prior knowledge Ginsberg had about young women that compelled him to write that line that was so accurate.
This film was definitely before it's time in terms of the cinematography as it relates to the recent slew of films that are made to look like reality TV, but don't let that throw you off. This is definitely more Art House than The Real World.

this film is typical of the 60's movies that tried different approaches just to be different. the film has a lot of sex but isn't sexy. Rip Torn underplays his role effectively as a womanizer whose story is told through the reflections of a mirror. those who know Torn only from Dodge Ball or Larry Sanders will be interested in seeing him as a young man. The movie reminds of french new wave films of the era and is a little difficult to follow since the premise is that you are watching an 8mm version of his interludes with different women. it isn't a "feel good story" for the entire family, but if you like different approaches to film, it is worth a look

Easily one of the best independent films ever made. Way ahead of its time. Not for the faint of heart. Anyone interested in psychology should see this film.

A newly rediscovered gem of an indie film. Brilliant performances and direction. Groundbreaking.