Sublime character actor Alan Arkin has died at age 89. His sons said in a joint message:
“Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”
Arkin won an the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2007 for his hilariously tragic turn in “Little Miss Sunshine.” His three other nominations were for “Argo,” “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” (underrated) and “The Russians Are Coming.”
However, if there’s one Arkin performance you must watch tonight it’s his practically unseen tour-de-force performance in 2002’s “13 Conversations About One Thing.” Other notable roles of his, that are worth your time this evening, include his villainous turn in “Wait Until Dark,” “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “The In-Laws.”
Arkin had these simple nuances and a dry delivery all his own. He was always self-effacing. A first-rate actor.
He even ended up directing one of the unspoken of great indie films of the ‘70s: “Little Murders.” You might not have heard of this dark existential farce of a film, but now is the perfect time to catch up with it. “Little Murders” had a budget of 100k, substituting conventional narrative for neurotic characters who, basically, rant for 90 minutes. Here’s a bit of dialogue I vividly remember:
Why does one decide to marry? Social pressure? Boredom? Loneliness? Sexual appeasement? Love? I won't put any of these reasons down. Each in its own way is adequate, each is all right. Last year, I married a musician who wanted to get married in order to stop masturbating. Please, don't be startled, I'm not putting him down. That marriage did not work. But the man tried. He is now separated, still masturbating, but he is at peace with himself because he tried society's way.
Recently, Arkin starred alongside Michael Douglas in “The Kominsky Method.” This was a very popular Netflix series that I never had the chance to watch. He did not appear in the final season.