Made in 1968, but released in 1970, Donald Cammell & Nicolas Roeg’s, “Performance”, is an unlikely mixture of crime Genre and psychedelic head movie. Depending on who you ask, this mixture of two incomparable styles into one movie does not always work.
James Fox is an unsavory London mob enforcer named Chas. His specialty is intimidation through force and the movie opens with a barraged display of his unsavory talents. After killing a fellow mobster, Chas becomes Persona-non-grata to the Mob and must hide out in a safe location before fleeing London for New York. After overhearing a musician speak about leaving his rented room in the nearby countryside Chas heads to that address pretending to be a performing juggler who was recommended for the room by the departing musician. The flat is owned by a newly retired rock musician named Turner (A young Mick Jagger basically playing himself), who lives there with two girlfriends (Anita Pallenberg and Michele Breton). Turner lives a bohemian lifestyle, having a bisexual manage-a-trois relationship with the two girls. At this point in the movie, the effect and subject change drastically, as Chas becomes effected by Turner and vise versa. The main change occurs after the girl’s trick Chas in taking a psychedelic magic mushroom. The ensuing drug induced trip changes Chas completely, as the movie themes manifest into themes of sexuality and the release of inhibitions.
The molding of personalities of Chas and Turner that occurs during their psychedelic trips, reminded me of a drugged-out version of Bergman’s, “Persona”. While Performance is not as in-depth or involved as Bergman’s film, there are many similar themes here. Chas, who sports a short conservative hair style starts to wear a women’s wig and like Turner, theatrical makeup. The makeup reminded me of the glitter rock fashion that was to emerge within a year that the movie came out. Turner and Chas’s drag style of dress and appearance came well before T-Rex and Ziggy Stardust but was a previewer of what was to come during the early 70’s glitter scene in London. The movie drives home hard the theme of sexual freedom and ambiguity within the world of rock and roll. The idea of a macho violent thug being influenced by a bisexual bohemian singer who slowly transforms into the singer was revolutionary at the time.
The movie boasts a superb musical number titled, “Memo to Turner”, that is a surrealistic depiction of the bohemian Turner becoming a violent gangster. The style of this musical number mixes quick edits and violent zooms that are prevalent throughout the movie to a gangster costumed Mick Jagger singing a great Rolling Stones style rock song. This highly influential scene foresaw thousands of future rock videos of rock stars-play acting to their songs. For me it is the highlight of the movie.
Fox does a standout job in portraying Chas as the violent hoodlum who is suddenly unaware of his own sexuality and who he really is. The play on sexuality runs rampant in the film, as even the mob boss who want to kill Chas are portrayed as being gay. Fox is a great actor who understood the nuances needed for the complex role. While it is true that Jagger is basically playing himself in the film, he does it very well. His Turner is charismatic as well as spaced out, and Jagger was perfect for the role.
Cammell and Roeg use a very kinetic style to the way they shoot the movie. The initial scenes of Chas causing havoc and being threatening give the film an edge. When Chas ends up at Turner’s flat the movie does not let up with its non-stop quick edits and quick zooms. Only now they are not representing violence, but a psychedelic drugged out trip. From the moment Chas arrives at the apartment I felt that everyone in the story were tripping on some pretty good hard drugs. By the end of the movie when the two opposite worlds meet, it is the hippy world of sex and drugs that engulfs the violent world of the mob. The result, while fascinating, is not pretty.
“Performance”, never really settles in with its wild themes and at times seems distant and off kilter. This movie is not for everyone’s taste. It is however, due to its mixture of a 60’s head movie and blue collar gangster film, a fascinating watch.
1001 Movies before you die 