Spending my summer vacation trying to not melt by staying inside and catching up on movies in my watch pile. Today we’re continuing the watch of movies adapted from Parker novels. This time it is MADE IN USA, which is based on the sixth Parker novel, The Jugger.
Instead of a thief visiting a friend who died, the film is about a journalist doing the same. In fact, the opening is pretty spot on for what happens in the book. The Parker stand-in Paula Nelson (Anna Karina) has a run in with a man named Typhus who wants to work with her in her hotel room in Atlantic-Cité and she knocks him out. Then it starts to go off the rails a wee bit. She meets the man’s nephew, David, and his girlfriend when Paula drags Typhus back to his room. She chats a bit, then Paula heads off to do her own investigation into her friend Richard’s death.
But hot on her heels is a police inspector named Paul Widmark, who thinks she had something to do with Richard. Soon Paula realizes that Richard might have been killed for a political reason and those behind it want to stop her investigation at any cost. What ensues is a 4th wall-breaking, comic, philosophical mix with twists and turns at every corner, not to mention an appearance by Marianne Faithfull.
MADE IN USA is an entertaining movie, but definitely one of the weirder adaptations I’ve seen. It probably doesn’t help that I’m only familiar with Jean-Luc Godard by name and haven’t seen all of his work. I’m sure being into French New Wave cinema would help as well.
Anna Karina is great as Paula, offering us a flirtier version of the character than we’re used to. She’ll still throw down when needed and keeps a gun handy in case danger arises. Sort of like an action-journalist. It’s pretty awesome that the first actor to play Parker in the movies was a woman. László Szabó is good as the inspector and I can’t say I’m familiar with him, either. The rest of the cast doesn’t really look like they belong in a Parker adaptation and were hit or miss with me.
It’s a lovely looking film, beautifully shot and the colors really pop–especially in the bright dresses that Paula wears. She might be the most colorful Parker stand-in yet! And the movie doesn’t give you a shortage of beautiful scenery to look at as they go around town on their capers. There are also some cool shots like when Paula is walking around a garage looking for clues and the camera follows her 360 degrees.
In terms of movies, it’s a fun film, but not a great Parker adaptation. It really only uses the set-up and then some bits at the end. It’s a wonder they bothered stealing it at all since they could have done their own thing. But then again, if they did that I wouldn’t have seen this clever and memorable movie.
Check it out.
