Insignificance (1985)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Nicolas Roeg

Writer:

Terry Johnson (writer)

Release Date:

2 August 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

The object of every man's fantasy and the greatest mind of the century are about to meet.

Plot:

Four 1950's icons meet in the same hotel room and two of them discover more in common between them than they ever anticipated.

Plot Keywords:

Marilyn Monroe | 1950s | Albert Einstein | Joe Dimaggio | Seven Year Itch

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Michael Emil	...	The Professor
Theresa Russell	...	The Actress
Tony Curtis	...	The Senator
Gary Busey	...	The Ballplayer
Will Sampson	...	Elevator Attendant
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	Driver
Ian O'Connell	...	Assistant Director
George Holmes	...	Actor
Richard Davidson	...	Director of Photography
Mitchell Greenberg	...	Technician
Raynor Scheine	...	Autograph Hunter
Jude Ciccolella	...	Gaffer
Lou Hirsch	...	Charlie
Ray Charleson	...	Bud
Joel Cutrara	...	Bar Drunk

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | New Zealand:R13 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Recorded Picture Company (RPC)

Trivia:

The photo collage calendar of Theresa Russell, echoing Marilyn Monroe's famous Playboy pose, was created by British artist David Hockney at the request of director Nicolas Roeg, and has since been exhibited at museums throughout the world.

Quotes:

The Actress: I only said I knew, because you said you knew.
The Professor: I lied. Knowledge isn't truth. It's just mindless agreement. You agree with me, I agree with someone else - we all have knowledge. We haven't come any closer to the truth. You can never understand anything by agreeing, by making definitions. Only by turning over the possibilities. That's called thinking. If I say I know, I stop thinking. As long as I keep thinking, I come to understand. That way, I might approach some truth.

Movie Connections:

Features Hiroshima mon amour (1959)

Soundtrack:

America

Meeting of minds

I have always been a great admirer of Nicolas Roeg and "Walkabout" is one of my favorite films. This is a film version of Roegs stage play and while most of the film takes place in a hotel room it still has some of Roegs cinematic flare. Very unique story is about a famous actress (Theresa Russell) who after a hard nights work on a film in 1954 goes to a hotel to visit a famous professor (Michael Emil) and together in his hotel room they talk. After awhile she wants to go to bed with him but as they start to get undressed her husband is banging on the door. Her husband is a famous ex-baseball player (Gary Busey) and he wants to know what is going on. The three of them in the hotel room talk about what is going on and what the future holds for them. Meanwhile, a famous senator (Tony Curtis) is threatening to take away the professors papers if he doesn't testify at a hearing. Theresa Russell is just excellent and while she's not trying exactly to impersonate Marilyn Monroe she does a wonderful job of exuding the phobia's and nuances that Monroe is very well known for. One thing the film does is show her as not only a woman on the verge of a mental breakdown but show her as a physical wreck as well. She talks of being unable to have children and at one point in the film she suffers a miscarriage. You can make an excellent case that this is Russell's best performance and I probably wouldn't argue. The film does an interesting thing in showing many flashbacks as the characters continue to talk about one thing and in the flashback we see one of many reasons for their actions. Busey also gives a good solid performance and it reminds me of what a strong persona he gives off on screen. Emil as the professor is a character that has many more things on his mind then we originally thought. The last scene in this film is a demonstration of his darker side! One of the highlights of the film for me is the little conversation he has with the elevator man (Will Sampson of "Cuckoo's Nest") and they discuss what Cherokee Indians think about at all times. But of course the famous scene in this film is where Russell demonstrates to Emil how she does understand the theory of relativity and uses toys to show this. The professor is delighted by her demonstration and so are we! Russell and Roeg are married in real life and they do admirable work when they are in collaboration and this is probably their best film together. Good performances and a very interesting job of directing make this a challenging and visually thought provoking film.