L'errore di vivere

517 Watford Way, London, England, UK....I was working nights on the pumps in 1967 when this was made, great free food. R.I.P. Albert Finney

"Charlie Bubbles" actually won Billie Whitelaw a Best Supporting Actress award from the New York Film Critics circle back in 1968, but it is mostly remembered today as Liza Minnelli's film debut. She's in it for about a third of the running time, and it's an assured comic performance, quite different from her later screen personas. Albert Finney's direction and performance are fresh and intriguing, and Whitelaw deserved her accolade--she walks off with the last third of the film. You'll either love or hate the ending.

I think it's a classic existentialist movie, very much of the European school. Man can never be truly happy or satisfied, with what he's got or with what he gets even if all his ambitions and dreams come true.I think Albert Finney has done an amazing job. It takes true guts and real skill to make a film like this and 'get life' out of it without resorting to fist fights, car chases and shootouts. I love the small moments, like where he puts the eyelashes on his sons lip to make a 'moustache', or when his wife takes the tea cup and his acting when he reaches for it. Billie Whitelaw looks super-sexy in the film and her performance is beautiful. Her gaze at him when he's tucked in bed said more than a million lines of dialogue could. I wish Mr Finney had directed more films, if his debut as a director was this good, imagine what would have come after a few more films. Aah we'll never know...

This is a surprisingly pedestrian affair from Albert Finney as he directs herself in the title role as a writer who has made plenty of money from his career. He has a lovely convertible Rolls Royce, a home with staff and a rather prurient security system and even manages the odd high-class food fight with his friend "Smokey" (Colin Blakely) but he is divorced, has a wayward young son and very little fulfilment in his life. It's on a trip to visit his former family with his secretary (Liza Minnelli) that we learn a little more about the causes of his divorce and of his new attentions as we meet ex-wife "Lotte" (Billie Whitelaw) and son "Jack" (the frequently scene-stealing Timothy Garland) and appreciate the somewhat enthusiastic interest in his visit by the local media. This has something of the stage play to it, and perhaps it might have worked better within the confines of a theatre giving it a degree more intensity. As it is, though, I found it all a rather lacklustre observation of the life of a man about whom I really didn't care. Aside from the aforementioned food fight, there is very little humour here and to be honest I was more than a little disinterested in his problems and peccadilloes by the end. Minnelli doesn't really feature enough to make that much difference although there is one rather awkward scene that is perhaps not one you'd probably ever have expected to see but that isn't really enough to kickstart or sustain this. It's all very proficiently put together but is an unremarkable ninety minutes, sadly.

When one becomes successful in life, it allows to have negative effects. For a writer named Charlie Bubbles(Albert Finney), successful, yet perturbed, caused a scene in a high end restaurant with a old friend. Drives a personalized custom Rolls Royce, and has a state of the art, security system. This man has it all. But the one thing he doesn't have in his life, is happiness. Divorced from his wife, has a son who is running wild. It's good that he doesn't fall into the bad crowd.

This is the first director job by Albert Finney. Liza Minelli does a good job playing the secretary. This movie might look innocent, but it's not!

2.5 out of 5 stars.