Straight Time

Hoffman, spivvy and moustached for maximum seediness, is an ex-con on parole who can't go straight, adrift like a midnight bellboy in lowlife LA. One yearns for a routine cops and robbers story, but Grosbard lingers with illusory impartiality over the technical details of the parole system, the problems of finding accommodation and work, and the nastiness of the backyard pool-and-barbecue life-style of riche America. Not for a moment are you allowed to suspect that hoodlums might be smart or attractive, or that crime pays. It's such a relief when Hoffman finally drives off into his bleak future, and this fiction of fact reaches its non-conclusion.