Customer Reviews

Insignificance

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4 star:		(2)
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Those who say that "The Man Who Fell To Earth" (1976) was Nicolas Roeg's last great movie either have not seen "Insignificance"(1985) or have vastly underestimated it. All the trademarks of a Roeg film are here; surrealism, spectacular visuals and a uniquely intelligent story.The idea that Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstien had an intimate relationship is explored here with great gusto. Misconceptions about Monroe's intelligence and Einstien's intellectual elitism are shattered here although her baseball player husband(DiMaggio)is what the viewer would expect.The climax is both unpredictable and mind blowing. All in all, Russell and veteran cast are great and Roeg's craftsmanship is uniformly excellent.

In this quirky highly original film director Nicolas Roeg posits the theoretical question, what would happen if Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio and Senator Joe McCarthy were all gathered together in the same hotel room for one evening in 1953?

An eclectic gathering indeed. If it helps you to conceptualize where this film is headed, think of this as an evening of psychotherapy for the rich and famous. Marilyn wants to be loved for her brain, yet continually relies on her sex appeal for attention. Her husband and sports legend Joe DiMaggio wants to express his deep feelings of love for his wife but can't seem to express himself without a pack of baseball cards in his hand. Meanwhile Senator Joe McCarthy is busy scowling and perfusely sweating as he continues a campaign of threats and intimidation against everyone in the room.

Einstein's quiet evening alone has definitely taken an unexpected turn. Between the emotional angst displayed by the vulnerable sex kitten, the inept attempt at reconcillation by her superstar husband and the politics of fear levied by the Senator, the usually aloof, unattached scientist finds himself in an environment beyond his control, even for one of his mental capabilities. It turns out to be an evening of personal discovery for all involved.

'Insignificance' is really a mixed bag, one of those films you either get it or you don't. Not by any means a great movie, but it has its moments, the best moment being Marilyn's attempt to impress Dr. Einstein by explaining his theory of relativity using toy trains and flashlights as props. Very cute, thank you Theresa Russell!

This may not be a film that would stand up well to alot of repeat viewings but worth a viewing nonetheless. Starring; Michael Emil as Albert Einstein, Theresa Russell as Marilyn Monroe, Gary Busey as Joe DiMaggio and Tony Curtis as Joe McCarthy.

What if Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Babe Ruth and Senator McCarthy were all in the same hotel during the same night, and their lives crossed ? You have to admit you can't go wrong with a premise like that. Unfortunately as much against science as it for science, and a rather anti-progressist ending. It's too bad, because it's a lot of fun.

Worth watching once if only for scenes like Marilyn Monroe demonstrating relativity to Einstein with miniature trains and flashlights, Babe Ruth telling Einstein how many packs of gum he's been featured on, and Monroe dancing with her skirt on fire in the middle of a nuclear explosion (don't ask).

One of my all time favorite films. Thought provoking. Insignificance reminds us that we are part of a much larger picture. How something that may seem like a minor incident to one person is a major occurrence to another. Guess it goes back to that Native American saying about not judging (or assuming about) another person until you walk a mile in there moccassins.

I've never been a fan of director Nicolas Roeg.

I prefer straightforward storytelling in my movies and his work is just too cryptic and experimental for my taste.

Nevertheless, even aside from Roeg's kaleidoscopic images, I'm not quite sure I get the complete message that screenwriter Terry Johnson is trying to put across in INSIGNIFICANCE, an adaptation of his stage play that deals with a fictional meeting between 1950s icons Marilyn Monroe (Theresa Russell), Albert Einstein (Michael Emil), Joe DiMaggio (Gary Busey) and Senator Joseph McCarthy (Tony Curtis), none of whom are specifically identified in the film.

Perhaps the movie is about the burden of "celebrity," or the fact that "knowledge is not necessarily truth," or maybe it's about those ideas and a few others. Certainly there are many different thoughts tossed about in the picture's 108 minute running time.

Einstein, played by Emil with a childlike innocence, and Monroe are the central figures in the piece, and the scene in which she uses flashlights and various toys to explain to him his "theory of relativity" is a delight. Also memorable is a scene with the scientist and the DiMaggio character where the great athlete justifies his "celebrity" with the fact that he was featured in 13 series of bubblegum baseball cards.

Busey is marvelous as DiMaggio, as is Ms. Russell in capturing the persona of Monroe. Indeed, all of the actors shine in their individual roles. It is their performances, as well as many of the well-written scenes from the original stage play, rather than Roeg's flair for "opening up" the action, that make INSIGNIFICANCE worth watching.

Among the extras in The Criterion Collection edition of the 1985 film are recent interviews with Roeg, his producer (Jeremy Thomas) and the film's editor (Tony Lawson). There is also a vintage "Making of" featurette and a 26-page booklet filled with essays about the picture.


© Michael B. Druxman

"Insignificance" is a wonderful film. It has strong visual flair and Theresa Russell(the actress) and Michel Emil(the professor) are very good.....HOWEVER....
This is NOT the best film Nicolas Roeg has done. In fact I have to say that when compared to his earlier work, it's very weak. Roeg can be a very demanding director and anyone watching his films must be prepared to participate and not expect to be spoonfed everything you need to know about what you are seeing. This is what I love about his films but "Insignificance" seems confusing just for the sake of it. To me this film represents what has gone wrong with Roegs later work. The material just doesn't fit well with his idiosyncratic style. There isn't really any need for this film to be so strange. I sometimes think that Roegs' ultimate artistic drop came with his working so much with his wife Theresa Russell. They met while Roeg was filming "Bad Timing"(Roegs most brutal and accomplished film..DVD please!!) and since then Roegs films gradually declined in quality. A shame really because at one time Roeg was one of the strongest directors in the 70's. If you want to see this true artist at his best then see "Performance", "Walkabout", "Don't Look Now", "The Man Who Fell To Earth", "Bad Timing" and "Eureka". From "Insignificance" and onward Nicolas Roeg has found promblems with his choice of material to film.

This film is a classic not only in it's originality but in it's ability to capture the mood and craziness of a time period. The idea of Mariln Monroe discussing relativity with Albert Einstein is in itself a reason to watch and own this film.

This is without doubt a hidden / forgotten gem of cinema. The scene where the Maralyn Monroe charater is explaining the theory of relativity to Albert Einstein using a toy train is pure delieght.
Sadly the movie took two months to be delivered and when is was it was a version dubbed in German - a language about which I know some of the semantics but of which I have absolutely no desire to speak or understand.
This is only my second bad experience with Amazon and both have been with affiliate suppliers.