Paper Moon

Tatum O’Neal creates a character out of thin air, makes us watch her every moment and literally makes the movie work.

Snappy patter reigns again, but by letting the story develop in open spaces rather than through tight edits, Bogdanovich fosters an atmosphere of freedom and promise.

Ryan O'Neal is a con man and Tatum O'Neal is the foundling who may or may not be his daughter. Though their relationship is conventionally drawn, it has a heart that Bogdanovich hasn't been able to recapture.

Bogdanovich's warmest film, featuring charming performances from real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal.

Ryan O'Neal stars as a likeable con artist in the Depression midwest, and his real-life daughter, Tatum O'Neal, is outstanding as his nine-year-old partner in flim-flam.

Peter Bogdanovich and his screenwriter, Alvin Sargent, who adapted Joe David Brown's novel, have set out to make a bittersweet comedy that is both in the style of thirties movies and about the thirties. They evoke the time (1936) and the place (rural Kansas and Missouri) so convincingly that their rather sweet formula story seems completely inadequate, even fraudulent.

It is very fussy about period detail, and goes to some length to evoke the dim days of Depression America, while just about everything else is left to slide.

Beautiful black and white photography. Ryan O Neal had some wonderful movies in the 70s, my favorite is The Driver. The con games are hilarious and Tatum o Neal still holds the record for youngest oscar winner at 9 years old. its a shame she was molested by her dad's drug dealer a couple years later.

A remarkable throwback production, the lead pair work perfectly together and a 10-year old is acting circles around everyone.

I really enjoyed this film - the young girl (Addie) takes control of the situation - I admired her. I liked the dialogue and the plot. Its quite amusing at times and I enjoyed seeing how she manipulated other people. I really liked how she challenged Moses (the man who has to take care of her). I enjoyed the car chases and the interactions between Addie and Moses. I'd definitely recommend this film - its one of the better ones I've seen lately, being sad, touching and funny at different points.

Tatum O'Neal's acting debut is undoubtedly impressive, but it's the chemistry between her and her real-life father Ryan O'Neal that just blew me away. Honestly, I couldn't help thinking about Charlie Chaplin and Jack Coogan from The Kid! The ending is a tad bit predictable, though. Nevertheless, the execution is pretty exquisite that kept me from being very sure about how the movie will end. Also, the ending is as heartwarming and sweet as the whole movie. So, it's not really a big problem. What amazed me is how smartly scripted this movie is. The way the problems are solved in the plot is genius. The main characters keep get in troubles a lot through their journey, and they get out of them in a convincing and intelligent way. But it's also silly and ridiculous at the same time to match the nostalgic approach that Peter Bogdanovich took from the get-go. That's really a lesson that many directors and screenwriters should learn nowadays; which is that when they decide to capture the essence of a bygone cinematic era, they have to make their film relevant to a modern audience by making it seem smarter and more sensible, hence more convincing. Every sub-plot is consistent, amusing, and really adds to the characters and the main storyline. The sub-plot of Trixie also has no shortage of brilliance and fun, but I think it didn't need to be that long. It felt like that it was a pitfall that the screenwriter fell into, but didn't want to get out of it in an unconvincing and flimsy way so he had to take his time planning a reasonable and plausible way. That said, I enjoyed every second of this very sub-plot as much as the entire movie. Paper Moon is simply a thoroughly engaging, very moving and touching, quite charming, surprisingly clever and sincere ode to Depression-era road movies. (9/10)

A solid comedy-drama that nicely balances gravity with levity. As a road movie it meanders though depression-era rural America with a yarn like plot within a main story arc. Serves as a nice companion piece to The Coens' "O Brother, where art thou". Great performances and always feels authentic to the 1930s.