Early in “Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets,” one of the barflies who populates the film talks about working as an actor. “I wanted the truth of every line,” he says. But when he realized that truth was elusive, he says, “I started going after beauty.”
That approximates the approach of this movie, directed by Bill and Turner Ross, which won over many smart fans at Sundance who admired how it blurred the boundaries of nonfiction. The movie purports to document the closing day of a dive bar called Roaring ’20s — certain exterior shots, dialogue and even traffic reports imply it’s in the Las Vegas area. The time is around the 2016 election.
It’s an eventful day. All eyes turn to “Jeopardy!” (at other points, classic films like “The Cranes Are Flying” and “The Misfits” are glimpsed on TV). A big-bearded, guitar-playing bartender does a terrific Roy Orbison. A 60-year-old flashes her breasts to show how well they’ve held up.
But there’s a catch never revealed in the film. (Read no further if the above intrigues.) These real, unscripted drinkers were enlisted by the Ross brothers, who gave them the fictitious overarching scenario. Roaring ’20s is actually near New Orleans, and it’s still open.
There’s an argument for engineering a situation with a movie-friendly time frame, and even dramatizing details — if the results are interesting. (Also, in the current ethos of documentary filmmaking, waiting for something to happen is for suckers.) But seen with or without foreknowledge of its methods, “Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets” is only fitfully engaging — suspect as documentary, insubstantial as fiction.
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. Watch through virtual cinemas.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
