Resident Alien
- Director: Jonathan Nossiter
- Producer: Chantal Bernheim; Jonathan Nossiter
CGiii Comment
How not to make a documentary...
A great subject - definitely, a life worth preserving.
Unfortunately, the execution is on the cusp of appalling.
Too many soundbites from people who do not matter, a catty ex-agent chopping a pepper, a professor of comparative literature - quite ridiculous when the subject is sitting right next to him.
There are overly long segments of Crisp watching The Naked Civil Servant - serving no purpose whatsoever.
Nossiter's direction is stagey, tedious and repetitive and is crammed with irrelevance - LET THE SUBJECT SPEAK.
Born Denis Pratt, Crisp's wit is as phoney as his name - which is not an insult, it is simply an observation.
He was a bitchy old queen and like all bitchy old queens he said to impress, to shock - whether he meant it or not.
America took him seriously, Britain just enjoyed him and that is the fatal flaw of this mish-mash - darling, take it all with a pinch of salt. Remember he did say some truly stupid things and refused to apologise...
Less focus on the eccentric and more on the old poof. A wasted opportunity - quite unforgivable.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
At age 73, writer and melancholy master of the bon mot, Quentin Crisp (1908-1999), became an Englishman in New York. Rossiter's camera follows Crisp about the streets of Manhattan, where Crisp seems very much at home, wearing eye shadow, appearing on a makeshift stage, making and repeating wry observations, talking to John Hurt (who played Crisp in the autobiographical TV movie, "The Naked Civil Servant"), and dining with friends. Others who know Crisp comment on him, on his life as an openly gay man with an effeminate manner, and on his place in the history of gays' social struggle. The portrait that emerges is of one wit and of suffering.
Cast & Characters
Quentin Crisp as Himself;
Peter Walker as The Bum;
Gilbert Stafford as Man on Street;
Gus Rogerson as Street Performer;
Michaela Murphy as Street Performer;
Felicity Mason as Herself - Dinner Hostess / Writer;
Fran Lebowitz as Herself - Writer;
Guy Kettelhack as Himself - Writer;
John Hurt as Himself - Actor;
Richard Seiburth as Himself - Professor;
Hunter Madson as Himself - Writer;
Sting as Himself - Singer;
Michael Musto as Himself - Gossip Columnist;
Sally Jessy Raphael as Herself - Talk Show Host;
Shi Ringer as Herself - Gay Activist