1976: The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

John Casavetes' film about a night club owner with a gambling problem whom a bunch of gangster pressure into - SPOILER ALERT! - killing a Chinese bookie to settle his debt has "independent film" written all over it. The construction of the script is nothing like what they teach you in the screenwriting textbook and the mise en scène uses unconventional frames, handheld camera and nonstandard lighting, making much use of the fact that there are often spotlights around where the scene is set. Indeed the film is visually excellent and a very valid counterargument against the view that if your film is noir you should shoot it in black and white. On the downside, the script is not only unconventional but also not very good, sort of petering out after about three fifths. If you like it sloganesque: Very well directed, somewhat poorly written. (7)