PAPER MOON (1973) **** There was every reason to consider Ryan O'Neal to be in the Warren Beatty/Paul Newman league after this one, and Tatum O'Neal's debut has to be one of the most promising ever. Peter Bogdanovich shoots the Midwest, in black and white-on purpose I think, in a manner at once stark and lurid. Ryan's running the most cynical scam in the history of western civilization but the power of his performance is such that he's got the audience in his pocket immediately, perhaps because or in spite of his silly mustache. His facial expressions render the equally brilliant dialogue almost unnecessary. The scene between Tatum and Madeline Kahn, who really needs to go potty, shows Tatum's expressions generating power to compare to her father. The ultimate review of this movie would be a face that silently says that there's more to life than being good and respectable.
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