I recommended this movie, so I obviously loved it. This film was made in '73 but set during The Great Depression and maintained that environment throughout. When watching we feel the vibe given with older films; It's a comedy, yes but a good, clean, fun comedy with a little drama, a simple story and a screen presences that captivates us. Tatum O'Neal as Addie stole the screen and Ryan O'Neal complimented the movie just as much. Having a father/daughter play the roles was movie gold.
There were a few things about the cinematography that made this movie. Director Peter Bogdanovich would build scenes in a way that focused our eyes to the characters but also to the set around them. Take the scene at the beginning, when Moze (awesome nickname) was buying a train ticket, sending a telegram and trying to send Addie to her Aunt. The man making the transaction was on the far left side of the screen extremely close. The camera was over his shoulder with Moze and then Addie on the side of the road looking down it, not at the clerk and Moze, with a pair of silos in the background. Everyone in the shot was strategically spaced across the scene to make us focus in on Addie and her dissatisfaction with the situation. Some people may not enjoy black and white films made at a time when it can be made in color, which I guess I can understand. However, there is always a purpose for it. In this case, it is to give us nostalgia of what it's like; for us to escape into the time period. The attire during this time period is by far the highest point in american history for presentability. People would put on a suit and tie to change a tire. Also, I absolutely love car chases with those 1920's automobiles.
Moses Pray was a conman but he never felt like "the bad guy." Even at the beginning of the film, conning over widows but with engraved bibles that their loved ones ordered for them. It was, in an optimistic way, a connection to those that were lost. Also, at the very first scene of the film Moze was actually attending Addie's mother's funeral because he truly cared about her, which we wouldn't really notice until later. Moze was the ideal affable conman. I really enjoy the way writers and directors give us stories; what is withheld and what they decide is important. For instance: We never find out the connection between Moses and Addie's mother; We never know how Addie's mother dies; The conman being conned by gold-digger Trixie Delight. Then Moses never finding out that Addie conned him to pull him away from Trixie; We felt until the end that Moses was going to be Addie's father. When it was revisited he still claimed he wasn't. Sadly, Addie and the audience never finds out who her father is.
There is some simplicity and art in comedies that has been lost in cinema though. Something we realize when watching this movie. I'm not saying that comedies made now aren't funny and good because they are in their own way; but every comedy doesn't have to be raunchy or slap-stick to make it a good comedy.
One of my favorite things to do when watching movies is see how the much the title ties in to the film itself. The Paper Moon was the picture given to Moze from Addie. This was a symbol of the affection and love she felt from Moze and also what she had been longing for, not only from the death of her mother but also from a father that was absent from her life. Which was a somber subject of the movie that we forget (intentional) throughout the movie. We all loved Addie because she carried this strength with her from beginning to end. Her closing line was "You still owe me that two hundred dollars!"
