"Have you ever made a decision?"
An ambitious and hypnotic portrait of a particular kind of Californian nihilism that probably only existed for a brief moment in the 70s within a certain milieu. One of the more engaging depictions of depression I've yet seen on screen, it's unsurprising it came from the pen of Joan Didion. As an aside, the film is not an easy nut to crack, but its easier to understand than the elliptical book. Anyway, it is apposite that the burnt-out personalities match the sunburnt desert cinematography; indeed, I bet this looks fantastic in 35mm.
Synopsis: Burned-out B-movie actress Maria, depressed and frustrated with her loveless marriage to an ambitious film director, Carter Lang, who would rather work on his career than on his relationship with her, numbs herself with drugs and sex with strangers. Only her friendship with a sensitive gay movie producer, B.Z., offers a semblance of solace. But even that relationship proves to be fleeting amidst the empty decadence of Hollywood.