This film is over a half century old now, and it may be time for a revisionist review. Yes, it's messy and somewhat confusing, but considering it's about a dysfunctional man reviewing his dysfunctional life while living it, the film speaks for all those who go through life hating their job, hating their relationships, and hating the way they try to deal with it all. Eddie Anderson (Kirk Douglas) really does epitomize a guy on the brink, who's success as an advertising executive comes back to haunt him every time he hears or sees a commercial for Zephyr cigarettes. His convoluted life almost ends when he plays chicken with a couple of big rigs on a city highway, and by the film's end, he's awaiting the outcome of a mental hospital's board of review to determine his fate. Everything in between is a smorgasbord of failure and deceit, unable to cope with the cards he's dealt himself in life. Not a pretty picture, which describes both Eddie and the film.
Review of The Arrangement
The Arrangement
(1969)
"I guess what I don't like is the person I am."
22 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers