(Rightly) Forgotten Disappointments of the 70s: Believe in Me

1971's Believe in Me, a film I had been trying to track down for years, was one I had sincerely hoped to include in my "Forgotten Gems of the 70s" series. On paper it had quite a bit going for it -- it was created by the same writing/directing team of the extremely impressive The Strawberry Statement, Israel Horovitz (father of Beastie Boy Adam) and Stuart Hagmann; it featured 70s almost-icon Michael Sarrazin and Jacqueline Bisset as a couple hopped up on speed, and was shot on location on mean streets of NYC. So what went wrong? Though popular throughout most of the decade, Michael Sarrazin never quite reached superstar status in the 70s. Sharing the lead role with Jane Fonda in Pollack's They Shoot Horses, Don't They? should have propelled his career to bigger and better things, but it never happened. Not good looking enough to topple Reynolds or Redford, and without sufficient presence as a leading man to unseat Hoffman or Newman, he spent the 60s and 70s turning in fine performances in films that, while mostly forgotten today, are echt-70s -- Sometimes a Great Notion, Harry in Your Pocket, The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, etc. His performance in Believe in Me is as dedicated as all his others, but there's nothing of substance to grab on to. The wafer-thin plot tells of Remy (Sarrazin), a NYC emergency-room doctor hooked on amphetamines as a means of coping with the horrors he experiences daily, which includes spending time with terminally-ill children. Enter Pamela (Bisset) a children's book editor who becomes the unlikely love interest, and even more unlikely participant in Dr. Feelgood's speed-induced exploits. Throw in a somewhat-evil drug dealer named Uncle Stutter (70s staple Allen Garfield) and an under-aged addict, and you're left with a cautionary drug tale created by people who seem to know nothing at all about drugs. Genuine physio- and psychological ramifications are barely touched on, save for a scene of them staying up all night painting their apartment, and Sarrazin forcing Bisset to drink a bottle of Bosco chocolate syrup in an amphetamine-fueled rage. Unraveling with all the warmth of a government-sponsored anti-drug screed, the film lacks a human element that makes us care about these two as they enter their downward spiral. Remy and Pamela's entire romance is handled via an extended montage of the two of them walking on the beach to the strains of the overly syrupy Lou Rawls theme song as if it was a "Sessions Presents..." commercial. Pamela's slide into addiction is equally unconvincing, led by Remy's repeated mantra of, "trust me, I'm a doctor." Feh. There's not an ounce of chemistry between Sarrazin and Bisset, which is curious as they had already appeared together in the sleazy The Sweet Ride back in 1969, and were romantically involved at the time. Released in the same year as the far superior (and progressive) Panic in Needle Park, Believe in Me is an embarrassing mess of a film, made tolerable only by handful of street scenes that capture the true grit of Manhattan circa 1971. That, and hearing Bisset utter the line "I steal, I shoot dope, I fuck".

Comments

[RObert]

This was made during that brief period when every studio was rushing a drug movie into production (The best of the lot: Ivan Passer's "Born to Win"), but by the time the film was done the trend had passed, so they changed the title from "Speed is of the essence" and tried to market it as a love story.
I've never seen it, but your disappointment mirrors most of the reviews at the time.
...and I share your assessment of Hagmann's "The Strawberry Statement" (a casualty of the previous year's beating-a-trend-to-death cycle of student revolt movies). And I agree also with your description of Sarazzin (ever see "The Pursuit of Happiness" - another early 70s forgotten pleasure?), whose never quite got over being labeled "Jacqueline Bisset's boyfriend". The last thing I saw him in - about 15 years ago - was an awful Canadian straight-to-video thriller about an obscene phone caller.....

[Peter Nellhaus]

Stuart Hangman?

[Filmbrain]

Oops...nice catch Peter...thanks!

[Filmbrain]

Robert --

Yes! Born to Win is very good! I had forgotten about that one....same year as Panic and Believe in Me. George Segal, Karen Black, and a young DeNiro. Must see if that one is on DVD...

[mike]

wow. Michael Sarazin.

Haven't heard that name since, well....the Seventies.

musta been "For Pete's Sake" that derailed his career.

The curse of the Babs.

[Filmbrain]

Back in the early days of HBO, it seemed that Sarrazin was in every second film they showed. As a kid, I thought he was so cool. I must have watched The Gumball Rally about fifty times.

[Steve]

Ah, if only there had been some Gumball Rallys in this latest round of the SCQ...these latest ones have felt really difficult, and I don't want to believe that I'm really such an amateur. Come on, pal, can't you throw some medium curves in there?

[Filmbrain]

Steve --

Almost used Gumball Rally for this week's quiz, but thought it would be too obvious.

I'll try to ease back a bit in coming weeks. I'm still feeling a bit bruised after the beating I took for Donnie Darko!

[jackie]

I secound that wow, i too havent heard that name michael sarrazin since the 70s. I was nine when i saw Frankenstein the true story on t.v and loved it.