2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
In 1979, director Hal Ashby presented to the public a magnificent black comedy about an ordinary gardener who, by coincidence, becomes an "oracle" in American high society, since no one is able to distinguish the wise man from the simpleton. The film "The Presence" (other translations of "Being There", "The Gardener") is ranked 26 in the top 100 best US comedies according to AFI, its IMDb rating is 8.00.
Story Brief
The plot of the painting "The Presence Effect" prompts everyone to recall the well-known trends in European satirical literature, initiated by Swift in Gulliver's Travels and Voltaire in Candide.
The main character is the gardener Chance Gardner, who lived all his life in the owner's Washington mansion. He conscientiously fulfilled his professional duties and only through television programs formed an idea of modern society, its political and economic trends. After the death of his elderly owner, he was literally thrown into the street. And he immediately fell under the wheels of an influential person who brought the unfortunate man to her home to show the doctor. So, Chance got a chance to get into the "high society". On theAt social events, with characteristic spontaneity, he began to share his thoughts and advice with politicians, oligarchs, and even with the President of the United States. Everyone around perceived the gardener's reasoning as revelations about the true essence of being.
Satirical tragicomedy
A movie like "The Presence Effect" must first of all be noted for its script, film critics hit the mark, honoring the tape with a BAFTA screenwriting award. Hollywood film experts chose to nominate the two lead actors and award an Oscar for the role of the elderly tycoon Benjamin Rand to actor Melvin Douglas in the Best Supporting Actor nomination. Indeed, the image of the patron of the protagonist succeeded brilliantly. Maximum drama and pressure with limited screen time.
The delightful Shirley MacLaine took part in the creation of the painting "Presence Effect". The American actress perfectly revealed the image of her character Eve Rand. The performer began her creative career as a Broadway dancer. Her film debut is A. Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry. McLain's talent was immediately awarded the Golden Globe Award.
Dedication to Talent
Unfortunately, Hal Ashby's remarkable satire, based on the novel by Jerzy Kosinski, was the director's last creative success and the final demonstration of the triumph of the talent of British actor Peter Sellers, who masterfully embodied the image of a gardener on the screen. The world-famous performer brought the role of the eccentric Inspector Clouseau in the project of B. Edwards The Pink Panther. The film was released in 1963, when there were no immersive cinemas yet. The creative career of the performer developed rapidly until the end of the 60s. After that, he preferred to play not characteristic and comic, but exclusively heroic and romantic roles. Because of this, a series of failed films appeared on the screen, the loudest failure of which is considered to be Casino Royale.
Peter Sellers for participation in the film "Presence Effect" was not awarded in any way. He blamed the producers, who included comic sequences of various scenes in the film's ending, despite his objections. A year after the premiere of the film "Presence Effect", the actors involved in the project learned about the untimely death of the lead actor. It is now seen as a tribute to the unique talent of Peter Sellers, who was unrivaled in comedy subgenres ranging from political farce to eccentricity.
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