Loving

Brilliantly observed comedy, somehow at once screwball, satirical and sensitive, taking a refreshingly cynical angle on the clichés of Misunderstood Artist vs The Rest. Segal is the commercial illustrator turned egotistically Angry, scattering contracts, colleagues, wife and mistress in the wake of his empty 'bohemian' anarchy; a less easily indulged figure than Sean Connery's rebel poet in Kershner's earlier A Fine Madness, ending up as nakedly absurd as the institutions he takes such glee in attacking. A timely reminder of Kershner's true (major) worth, subsequently dimmed by a series of faceless 'projects' like Return of a Man Called Horse and The Empire Strikes Back. (Based on a novel by JM Ryan.