#123: Pennies from Heaven
Part of the Top 150 Films series
I like weird musicals. An altogether different beast from the TV miniseries which serves as its inspiration, calling card and albatross, the film adaptation of Dennis Potter’s Pennies from Heaven wholly embraces its Hollywood spectacle to serve as a fable of Depression-era delusions of grandeur. All of the principal cast (especially Martin and Harper) do their finest work in this film; Gordon Willis uses his genius to full effect with the cinematography; the ‘musical’ sequences are some of the most joyous and expressive ever filmed. Unlike many traditional musicals, the routines are at once alienating and enveloping, fully embracing the artifice that comes with the territory and going even beyond musical parlance through its use of obvious lip-syncing. It’s a shame that this element put so many people off during its original release; who’d want to hear Christopher Walken sing when you can watch him dance his socks off!? Literally!
