The Landlord (1970)

At the age of twenty-nine, rich Elgar Enders "runs away" from home. This running away consists of buying a building in a black ghetto. [imdb]

Nominated for 1 Oscar:

Best Supporting Actress: Lee Grant

This one is a film I saw out of curiosity. And because (what a silly reason) it's rather difficult to find. Does that make it somewhat precious? :) hmmm, not really. It's a dramedy looking like an independent feature; it's also I think the directorial debut of Hal Ashby and probably some kind of movie vehicle for the rising star Beau Bridges (who is just adorable here).

The direction is daring and very playful, like any debut should be. The story is not that interesting, nor that funny. It has some moments of drama, but they're not heavy. The film always sticks in the middle, sometimes a bit higher than mediocrity. It's an easy watch. Lee Grant got her nomination for playing Elgar very excentric (often way too exagerately presented) mother. I'm not sure if her nomination is worthy; I tend to say yes, because I like wacky supporting characters and hers is memorable from the excentricity point of view.

My rating for the film: 6.5/10. A film you might like, but I doubt you'll love it.