The Plot Against Harry

I Only heard of this recently - once again thanks to my favorite NYC theater, Film Forum - and I wish I had seen it years ago. The Plot Against Harry (the title itself seems like a kind of cruel joke that could have been played on Harry, or the name of a podcast about him, like who is the plotter or ployee) is a deadpan comedy that is not shot like a documentary but is peopled like it, and is packed full of incident and (in Yiddish speak) mishegas and tsuris (sic) for one man to deal with in 80 some odd minutes.

Thankfully, Michael Roemer, who I imagine took on a herculean feat with a low budget to direct so many regular people in big celebration after big gathering scene (location work that would make Lumet's head spin), and Priest is close to perfect at looking and behaving so dejectedly and miserable in scene after scene even as you can guess he has brought some of this on himself, you can't help but feel a little bad for him... until things just get more cruel and ironic. I mean, Harry's heart (mild spoiler, it's not the heart) is the least of his worries with his ex and his estranged kids and that one guy who was probably an extra in Goodfellas, etc.

Think like, I dunno, a less visually dazzling but no less biting East Coast late 60s Coen brothers - this is up there with the most relentlessly bittersweet (mostly bitter) Jewish films I've ever seen, and I mean that as a compliment. I'm sure the Safdies studied this like a conspiracy nut with the Zapruder footage, even if this is less anxious and more doomed in how the filmmaker treats its hapless anti-hero.

If there were such a thing as a Jewish New Wave film movement in the late 60's, director Michael Roemer would certainly have been in its vanguard. His long lost, low budget comedy about a strictly small time New York City crook readjusting to life after a nine month prison stretch recalls some of the stylistic freedom of early Truffaut, while at the same time anticipating by two decades the deadpan anti-plot devices of Jim Jarmusch. In place of a story it offers a number of grotesque, eccentric characters, all bouncing off each other in unpredictable and unlikely places: a lingerie show, a dog obedience school, a bar mitzvah, and so forth. What the film lacks is enough substance to justify the overwhelming praise that greeted its belated release in 1989; it's fun, but at the same time it's also a negligible experience. The story behind the film is actually more interesting than the film itself, and after twenty years all the tardy attention probably benefited Roemer more than the movie-going public.

I love the feel of Roemer's second film, between its non-professional cast and how it immersed the viewer into the streets of New York and various aspects of Jewish culture. The black and white cinematography was fantastic and probably the biggest highlight. Oh, there were some amusing moments and also pathos in the main character's situation, having just gotten out of prison but seeing others move in on his illegal businesses, and connecting to his ex-wife and adult children who don't even know him. However, while I was constantly engaged, I don't think the film went to particularly interesting places with the story, squandering at least some of its potential. I kind of wish Ben Lang had appeared in more films too, he was so charismatic as Leo, the sunny friend with a genuine smile.

The Plot Against Harry is about a smalltime Jewish mobster who is released from prison and realizes his numbers racket has mostly fallen apart in his absence. Most of his crew has abandoned him to work for other local thugs, except for his loyal but often inept driver. At first he tries to regain control and call in a few favors, but it becomes more and more clear his time on the streets is up. Harry starts casting about for something else and maybe going legit, and his ex-brother-in-law convinces him to buy a Jewish event hall and catering business. It's through seeing the various Jewish ceremonies - weddings, bar mitzvahs, even a circumcision, that Harry starts to feel more connected with the Jewish community.

Meanwhile, he tries to reconnect on some level with his ex-wife, as well as the children he never really knew, none of whom want anything to do with him. There's a sense they're all politely trying to avoid each other but can't stop bumping into one another, once even literally, as he runs into their car. He somewhat reminds me of Gene Hackman's character in The Royal Tenenbaums, and I wouldn't be surprised if that film took inspiration from this one.

Harry is then informed he has an "enlarged heart" and isn't sure just how much longer he has to live, accelerating his desire for redemption. But getting on the straight and narrow has a lot of twists and turns.

To describe this film to a modern viewer, it has a wryness not unlike some Coen Bros films like Fargo or Burn After Reading, in that it takes a close look at the mundane and everyday, and finds humor and a story worth telling. There's occasionally also some Wes Anderson elements of charming and surreal set pieces and characters. Yet it must be said, this film is far more understated than any Coen Bros or Wes Anderson film. Additionally, as it's an indie film with some rough edges, it's not always obvious what we're supposed to take from each scene, but that's also part of its charm. All of this added up to a film that struggled to find an audience in 1969, but did lead to some indie success when it was released two decades later.

Comparisons aside, The Plot Against Harry is a good film but not a great one. It gets a bit too much praise because critics and film buffs just love when a film like this surfaces and offers something fresh, which it legitimately was in 1989. With the passage of time it takes on some period charm as well with a sweet and sentimental look at Jewish life in the late '60s.

It's hard to point to any one particular thing The Plot Against Harry really excels at but likewise it never drags and the sum of the parts kept me watching and rooting for Harry till the end.

This movie is a gem. In plot, scripting, acting and direction, there is wit and verisimilitude. It's a favorite of mine that deserves to be more widely known.

The 'hero' is a small time numbers runner who returns home after a stretch in prison to find lots of changes on the 'job' and at home. His life becomes more and more complicated as he copes with his new life. There's a clever ending.

I give it 'only' 9 of 10 only because it's not 'a 100 best of all time' film. Still, it's one of my favorites. I saw it once on its release, and spent a lot of time tracking it down for a second view. The effort was worth it.