The Last Detail

Hal Ashby was known as a great collaborator, and his light touch and ability to bring out the strengths of others is particularly effective in this, his third feature as director. While the editing of his first two films was much more stylized and pronounced, here he fully entrusts cutting duties to Robert Jones (who would later also become a screenwriter for Ashby), and feel of The Last Detail is much more relaxed and naturalistic as a result. The story of two naval policemen, Billy "Badass" Buddusky (Jack Nicholson) and "Mule" Mulhall (Otis Young) transporting a young prisoner, petty thief Larry Meadows (Randy Quaid), to jail, it is a compelling, brash and ultimately moving road movie of sorts, a film about masculinity and how men try (and often fail) to connect. It was brilliantly adapted from Darryl Ponicsan's novel by Robert Towne, whose profane screenplay is brought vividly to life by the three central performances; a bravado Nicholson is the standout, and was rightly nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards.