WILD 90, directed by Norman Mailer is, much like his literary work, both fascinating and boring at the same time. Three men, presumably gangsters, hole up in an NYC apartment talking and railing against everything, personal and otherwise. The "maf boys" shoot daggers at one another, get drunk, punch air (and a hanging light bulb) and are visited by various people. Although DA Pennebaker served as cameraman, the Cassavetes feel Mailer shoots for isn't there (there's clearly no script holding this thing together). Mailer doesn't really direct as much as he turns the camera on and let's it capture whatever happens. As an actor Mailer is very bad...unless of course he was actually a drunken horse's arse. That would make WILD 90 more important for capturing this literary lion in his prime. It's fascinating and boring and somehow very watchable while failing to be at all entertaining.
Review of Wild 90
