Inserts

Inserts, directed by John Byrum and released in 1975, is a drastic shift from the classic Hollywood film. The movie takes its voyaging audience into the once-forbidden underbelly of early Hollywood's "stag film" industry. Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Jessica Harper, Bob Hoskins, Veronica Cartwright, and Stephen Davies, the film brims with performances that elicit both suspense and intrigue, keeping the audience on their toes as they navigate the dark and murky realms of classic movie making.

Richard Dreyfuss, an Academy Award-winning actor known for his performances in 'Jaws' and 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' leads the cast. In this film, he portrays a character known as "The Boy Wonder," a once highly celebrated director in Hollywood’s golden era. He's a man that the fame machine chewed up and spat out. His character is riddled with complexities: he's a genius yet a recluse, successful yet washed-out. Dreyfuss expertly channels this paradoxical character, bringing him to life with a flair of vulnerability and mystery, creating an irresistible enthrallment for the audience.

Jessica Harper is Harlene, an optimistic aspiring actress. Harper expertly represents the innocence and naïveté of the dream-chasing small-town girl. The character she embodies is the quintessence of Hollywood dreamers, filled with the ambition of bright city lights but yet unaware of the industry's gritty realities.

Bob Hoskins defends his title as one of the industry's most versatile actors by playing Big Mac, a bootlegger-turned-producer. His presence can be intimidating and robust, yet he infuses it with a hint of humanizing vulnerability. Hoskins' portrayal of the desperate and sleazy Big Mac adds an enriching layer to this unorthodox depiction of old Hollywood.

Veronica Cartwright plays Roxanne, an over-the-hill silent movie queen and old flame of Dreyfuss. Cartwright profoundly translates the image of a faded star that refuses to believe her best times are behind her. Stephen Davies, meanwhile, lends his talent to the role of Rex, a handsome but dimwitted gigolo, offering a balance of light humor and raw sexuality to the intense drama.

The narrative of Inserts is set in the times of the transition from silent films to the "talkies," unfolding almost entirely within the confines of a single room, The Boy Wonder's home. The gloomy, squalor-filled place serves as his shooting location for pornographic films—a drastic comedown for someone who once directed the big-budget cinema of Hollywood's prime. Following a tragic incident and sidelined by the increasing popularity of sound films, his career in mainstream cinema gets derailed, resigning him to making adult films in an era when this was highly illegal.

Under the direction of John Byrum, the film uses isolation and confinement, filled with moments of black humor, emotional tension, and explicit scenes to continuously rattle the audience's comfort zone. Byrum orchestrates the performances and the narrative into an intimate yet extravagant symphony that exhibits the raw realities of a bygone era, bypassing Hollywood's glamorous facade.

Inserts is an unconventional exploration of the old Hollywood, filled with the despair of broken dreams, the dark allure of the forbidden, and the relentless pursuit of success amidst adversity. The film not only thrives on the performances of its ensemble cast but equally on its courage to embrace the scandalous and unsspoken. It takes viewers through a journey that intersects the realms of the seedy and the artistic, exposing the thin line separating art from the profane.

In conclusion, Inserts is an intriguing blend of drama and dark comedy that offers a vital look into the recesses of the Hollywood machine. The movie paints a graphic picture while illustrating the human struggle against obscurity and explores the dichotomy between glamour and decadence that existed during the formative years of Hollywood. While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea due to its explicit content and intense narratives, for those interested in an unvarnished side of Hollywood's yesteryears, Inserts provides an absorbing watch.