Decay of Fiction (2002)
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86% of critics liked it
(7 reviews) -
55% of users liked it
(233 ratings)
L.A.'s legendary Ambassador Hotel provides the backdrop for director Pat O'Neill's avant-garde film The Decay of Fiction, which superimposes reenactments of classic Hollywood films onto shots of the dilapidated establishment. Gangsters and their molls interact with icy blondes and… More L.A.'s legendary Ambassador Hotel provides the backdrop for director Pat O'Neill's avant-garde film The Decay of Fiction, which superimposes reenactments of classic Hollywood films onto shots of the dilapidated establishment. Gangsters and their molls interact with icy blondes and wisecracking bartenders in carefully deconstructed snatches of dialogue and narrative that serve an intentionally distancing purpose. O'Neill's time-lapse photography further adds to the film's ethereal effect. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Directed By
- Pat O'Neill
- Genres
- Drama, Special Interest
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 2003 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Stephen Holden, New York Times
If there were more experimental films as entertaining as The Decay of Fiction, Pat O'Neill's luminous Hollywood ghost story, the notion of a thriving avant-garde cinema might not be so intimidating to the moviegoing public.
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V.A. Musetto, New York Post
The Decay of Fiction is an acid trip of a movie about a piece of Los Angeles history that exists no more: the Ambassador Hotel.
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Eight years in the making, this haunting and highly watchable 35-millimeter experimental feature by Pat O'Neill is partly a color documentary on the ruins of Hollywood's Ambassador Hotel and partly a speculative patchwork of its decaying 'fictions'.
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J. Hoberman, Village Voice
The fullest expression of [O'Neill's] career on the periphery of the dream-factory assembly line.
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Maitland McDonagh, Miss FlickChick
Avant-garde filmmaker Pat O'Neill's haunting ode to pulp fiction and the now-vanished Ambassador Hotel is steeped in decaying California glamor and the ghosts of noir thrillers past.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
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