prudhocj

................that runs throughout this one-of-a-kind film and pulls it together in all of its hard-edged, creepy, dark and riveting auteur driven brilliance is the camera work of the man who single-handedly invented/developed (out of the necessity to light other more forgettable films) the film noir genre - James Wong Howe. He is one of the few geniuses produced by the Industry and his influence dominates the movies to this day......especially through Steven Spielberg, JJ Abrams and George Lucas. From the Silent Era right up to "Solo" the viewer can "feel" him in virtually every movie ever made, good or bad, since the mid-1920's. Don't believe it? Just look at his filmography! He was casually innovating ideas that other cinematographers took as their own "important" ideas years later. Case in point - Gregg Tolands' groundbreaking "deep focus" camera work on Citizen Kane can be directly traced to Howes' "Transatlantic" camera work 10 years before. All this said, "Sweet Smell........" is one of the 10 best movies ever made and worthy of seeing over and over.

I'm not entirely sure what got this film deep-sixed but ignore everything you've read about it and watch it! It's very good....great performances and cast, good script, Hawaii, Emma Stone and "Bumpy". It never drags and the story has a tidy little twist at the end that is very satisfying. Much, much better than the nay-sayers convoluted, misguided attempts to sound smart and politically correct at the expense of what's actually on the screen.

I'm not sure why Burnt didn't make it to theaters but it's much better than its reviews. I'm giving it a 10 because it doesn't lag, it tells the story and gets out! Good script, good acting and good camera work. It is a little frenetic at some points but that's how busy kitchens are anyway. And use the captions, it can be hard to hear and follow at times. Give it a chance, you might like it?