Sometimes it is easy to separate the art from the artist. Sometimes it isn’t. In the case of writer and director James Toback, it is all but impossible. Each of his films is an extension of himself. And for those that don’t know, Toback is a scumbag. A true, utter scumbag. I genuinely hate to say I like some of his movies, but I do.
As a writer, he is talented. Though judging by his filmography, that talent went out the window when the new millennium turned over. I’m not going to act like he’s a godsend up there with Scorsese and his ilk. He’s not. But in my opinion, he is an interesting filmmaker. Or was. As I said, that talent went out the window. And that’s true. Harvard Man, When Will I Be Loved, and An Imperfect Murder are all godawful. The only exception is Tyson, from 2008, which is very good. But it’s also a documentary.
People don’t enjoy The Pick-Up Artist, Two Girls And A Guy, and Black and White, but I do. They’re not good by any means, but Robert Downey Jr., who Toback found his muse in, is dynamite in them. I genuinely love The Pick-Up Artist because of him. Downey is impeccably charismatic in the film. You cannot take your eyes off of him the entire movie. He speaks Toback’s dialogue like it’s scripture. The same thing applies to Two Girls And A Guy and Black and White, though the latter is more of an ensemble piece . And though the former Iron Man is memorable in Black and White, it’s Ben Stiller’s pathetic, though hilarious storyline that saves that film for me. It’s an interesting subversion of the director’s love for basketball and gambling and the combination of such.
The only two genuinely notable movies Toback ever directed were Fingers and Tyson. Fingers is an essential piece of seventies crime cinema. It’s a disturbing, downright-dirty picture. After finishing it, you feel like you need a shower to wash the filth off. Harvey Keitel is excellent in the lead role, and Toback never explored his obsession with sex and violence better.
His biggest budget film, Exposed, is not all that good, but it’s an interesting piece of work. I don’t know how he convinced MGM to give him twenty million dollars, but they did, and he used it all. You can see on the screen that he did. The film is like Bret Easton Ellis novel’s Glamorama through his lens. The best part of it is lead actress Nastassja Kinski, who commands the film with her presence.
Toback also wrote The Gambler and Bugsy. The Gambler is the best film he ever was attached to. It’s a lowdown, gritty character piece about a loser played excellently by James Caan in the best performance of his career. Like Fingers, it’s essential. Toback’s script is masterful and even literary.
Bugsy is not as good as The Gambler. That’s not to say it’s bad, just a bit mediocre. A passion project for Warren Beatty, the film is only great when Toback is let loose. Toback’s obsession with sex and violence pulls through in Bugsy so hard that between the standard gangster-biopic scenes is the transgressiveness he’s known for. It’s these scenes that make you wish the movie had been more like them because if it did, it’d be a lot better — or at least more memorable.
Love and Money, his third film, is his worst. Yes, even with An Imperfect Murder in the mix. At least that movie is seventy minutes flat, unlike Love and Money, which is twenty minutes longer. A piece of shit, Love and Money has everything Toback is criticized for. It’s pretentious, poorly written, and so far up its ass that it’s duller than a knife in a mental ward. The backstory, which involves both Pauline Kael and Warren Beatty, who both backed out of the project, is much more interesting than the final product.
It’s fair to say that Toback’s career is over now. I doubt that anyone is going to go near him now. They might, you never know. Probably not. The man made some good work. He had a distinct voice. But his time to shine is gone. And with the road he was heading down, I don’t think we’re missing out on anything extraordinary. His time to retire came thankfully. Anybody that can look at An Imperfect Murder and think it’s good enough to release needs to pack their bags, leave town, and enjoy what time they have left on this earth.
