Maidstone

Maidstone is an experimental cinema verite film from 1970, directed by hard-hitting novelist Norman Mailer. This unconventional piece of art stars Norman Mailer himself alongside Rip Torn and Paul Austin in a narrative that unfolds in a way that blurs the line between fiction and reality, leading the viewer on a disorienting journey through the world of independent filmmaking.

In the backdrop is the bohemian high society of 1960s New York, filled with the era's characteristic hedonism and eccentricity. The film portrays a chaotic and semi-improvised shooting of a movie within a movie. The meta-narrative centers around Norman Kingsley, played by Norman Mailer, a famous independent film director preparing to produce his next feature film. Mailer's character Kingsley is also considering entering the political scene, hinting at a run for president hence creating a curious mix of filmmaking and politics that underpins the movie's narrative.

Kingsley's planned movie, titled 'Bud Mother', is an art-house decree intended to explore the intersections of art, sexuality, and power in contemporary society. While the film's central focus is on Kingsley's upcoming movie, it concurrently evolves into a pseudo-documentary about Kingsley's own political ambitions and his interactions with a colorful mosaic of characters - actors, model, artists, hangers-on, and socialites.

Rip Torn plays Raoul Rey O'Houlihan, an actor screening for a role in Kingsley’s film. Torn's character, Raoul shows unpredictable ambivalence towards Kingsley, which later navigates towards aggressive confrontation. Paul Austin assumes the role of Kingsley's brother, with hints of deceit and questionable allegiance which adds layers to the film’s non-linear narrative.

One of the defining elements of Maidstone is the 'improvisational' style that Mailer adopts. The film sets no absolute reality, and the lines between characters and actors are always in flux, making it both jarring and thrilling. The scenes often seem as if they are not scripted, giving an impression of spontaneous events caught on camera, interweaving reality and fiction in an organic way rarely seen in film. There are moments of intense realism where it feels as if the fourth wall has not just been broken, but totally demolished.

Mailer's direction has a free-spirit approach that adopts the cinematic techniques of the 60s New Wave, capturing raw and intimate feelings with hand-held cameras and natural settings. The film's aesthetic can be jarring to viewers accustomed to traditional storytelling structures and clear-cut character arcs. The film's deliberate lack of a distinct narrative resolution works to its advantage, enforcing its realism and blurring the line between what is 'performative' and what is 'real'.

The camera work is raw, unfiltered, often shaky and amateurish, contributing to the voyeuristic, behind-the-scenes quality of the film. There's the pervasive presence of New York in the film, which turns into an atmospheric backdrop for unfolding the story. The dialogue also reflects the improvisational essence of the film, being unsteady and disjointed but steeped in spontaneous emotions that are raw and intense.

Maidstone is intentionally chaotic and defiant of traditional conventions, offering a tumultuous exploration of the unpredictability of filmic reality. It merges the idiosyncrasies of its characters with the disarray of its story world to evoke the anarchy and counter-cultural sentiments of the era it represents.

All in all, Maidstone is a film that will be inherently different for each viewer and resistant to categorization. It is politically astute, satirical and fueled by the creative tension between its ensemble cast altogether making it a provocative treatise on the clashing of art and life, viewer and viewed, reality and fantasy.