Reuben, Reuben! Tom Conti is Gowan McGland - a drunk, burnt-out has-been poet who's been slowly drinking himself to death. So why, as one of his acquaintances asks, does he get to "bed" 'so many women? What do they find so attractive? He's a charmer and a poet. Need we say more. As they said in "Dead Poets Society," why was poetry created - to woo women, of course. As the movie opens, we see him giving a reading of his work to a group of women. Some of them obviously piqued by his naughty little self and the way he scrutinizes himself and others under a microscope to find what really makes us tick and what turns us on, on all levels. He uses this theme of an awakening of self in his work, an arousal of all senses. The film centers on him trying to write and at the same time finding women to.... Enter Kelly McGillis who sees him on a train unable to pay his ticket, so she offers to pay and then bumps into him again later in the little Massachusetts town. Gowan tries to find semblance of order of his life, when he's told by an ex that she's writing a book about her marriage to him and he dictates some feelings into a tape recorder for her use. There's not any real action, but there's plenty of stimulation, great acting by Tom Conti, and extraordinarily insightful writing in this film. I was very impressed with screenwriter Epstein's script. The thoughts and ideas and feelings here were told in such a way as to be clear and simple, while they are representative of deep, multi-layered people and their mores. Epstein has the talent to be succinct. No other film has touched me or made such a profound impact on me, since I discovered "Ordinary People." The ending is a bit abrupt and almost unexpected, almost. But, when I see it again, I'm sure it will seem like it flows together. Everything was thoughtful and deliberate and those who love film like that will fall in love with Reuben, Reuben. But, wait, his character is Gowan McGland. So who or what is Reuben? What does it mean? What DOES it mean?
