O Lucky Man!

Lindsay Anderson's semi-sequel to the brilliant If.... is a satiracle poke in the eye of capitalism. O Lucky Man! (1973) takes the piss out of all the Horatio Alger, Protestant work ethic fables that are foisted upon the public as examples of how to become successful. The film's style often has more in common with Monty Python than with If... but the satire does have many of the same sharp edges of Anderson's previous film.

The great Malcolm McDowell once again plays the anti-hero Mick Travis. Here, Mick is a bright-eyed and energetic young sales trainee at a coffee company. Mick is confident that if he works hard at his profession he will be successful. O Lucky Man! is the picaresque tale of Mick's adventures on a very bumpy road to attain that success. Each episode of the film presents him with more challenges that may or may not erode his optimism, although the audience surely leaves with little faith in society and humanity. The film as a whole brings to my mind what Anderson once suggested for his epitaph: "Surrounded by fucking idiots."

The episodic structure of the film allows Anderson to satirize different aspects of society along Mick's journey. His travels provide ample opportunity to mock the absurdities of the chauvenistic, good old chap business culture, corrupt law enforcement, government control and conspiracies, and the military industrial complex. However, this episodic nature is also the film's major weakness. While each scene is played with a wit and it's satirical marks are deserving of ridicule, there is no central story or narrative to keep the audience involved in the film. If Anderson were as gifted a comedian as the previously mentioned Monty Python troupe, the humor and satire would be enough to keep us moving along on Mick's adventures. Sadly, the satire, while enjoyable and trenchant, is not funny enough to hold an entire 2-plus hour movie together.

For all the troubles visited on Mick in his climb up the ladder of success, he seems to retain his faith in the capitalist system. He eventually meets an aristocrat and ingratiates himself into becoming his assistant. Even this turns out badly as the aristocrat is in the midst of an illegal arms deal and when the police break in on the meeting, Mick is made to be the fall guy and sent to prison. This provides Anderson with an opportunity to satirize the British penal system and its efforts at rehabilitation. Mick leaves with perhaps less optimism about finding financial success, but with a strong faith in humanity. Of course, even his new found humanism is put to the test when he attempts to help some of London's needy citizens and finds himself the victim of their theivery and wrath. The only thing that saves Mick is wandering into a casting call for a movie - one being filmed by Lindsay Anderson that looks very familiar.

Perhaps the most enjoyable element of the film for me was watching the young Malcolm McDowell in top form. Always a personal favorite and one of the best actors of the 60s and 70s, McDowell owns every scene in this film. Although he shares scenes with some giants of the British stage and screen (Ralph Richardson and Helen Mirren to name just two) McDowell is the character that you care about and that carries the film. His rougish charm and youthful energy bring what could be a cardboard character to life. It is enjoyable to see that same devilish look in Mick Travis' eyes that we saw from McDowell as the "reformed" Alex at the end of A Clockwork Orange. In fact, for me Mick Travis from If... and, to a lesser extent, O Lucky Man! is the character of Alex transplanted from the near-future to contemporary times.

Acting as a sort of Greek chorus, Alan Price (of "The Animals") provides vintage '70s pop music that makes an ironic commentary on the film's action. O Lucky Man! is very much a product of the early '70s, not only with Price's songs but with its loose, episodic structure, unapologetic socialism, and wild, careening cinematic style. As a slice of early '70s nostalgia and a stinging social commentary it is enjoyable, but as a cohesive piece of cinema it is much less successful. Still worth a viewing particularly if you have never seen this hard to find film. It should be mandatory viewing as part of any MBA degree in order to provide a little dose of reality and honesty to the pro-business ciriculum. Available as a 2-disc special edition DVD from Warner Brothers.