Last night I watched Little Murders. A 1971 film starring and produced by Elliot Gould and directed by Alan Arkin. Had never heard of it but absolutely love 70's Elliot Gould. This is the first film he made with his production company and was adapted from a failed Broadway play he had starred in which was written by Jules Feiffer. They originally had Jean Luc Goddard signed on to direct.
Its a pretty wild dark comedy about a nihilistic photographer, played by Elliot Gould, who photographs shit for a living, and starts a relationship with a woman who is his exact opposite. He meets her insane family, the brother is straight out of a John Waters film, and you follow them through a severely degraded fictionalized version of New York filled with motiveless murder, roving gangs of bullies that regularly beat up a disinterested Elliot Gould, and a heavy breathing creep who is terrorizing NY phone lines. Donald Sutherland is in it as a hippy priest. It's not a perfect film but I really enjoyed it. Its just so strange and has quite a crazy pivot near the end. If you are a fan of 70's Elliot Gould like I am I highly recommend it because it's the perfect role for him. Its up on Criterion right now
