The Plot Against Harry

A true cinematic oddity, Michael Roemer's alternately hilarious and poignant slice-of-life comedy was shot in 1969, but wasn't released until 20 years later, when it scored a minor hit on the film festival circuit. Martin Priest plays Harry Plotnick, a small-time Jewish racketeer recently released from prison, where he served a stretch for numbers running. Expecting to pick up where he left off, Harry finds his old Manhattan neighborhood much changed, with black and Hispanic hoodlums overrunning his turf, while a farcical coincidence brings him into contact with his ex-wife (since remarried) and the daughter he hardly knew. Roemer's script makes Harry a fish out of water, a relic of a bygone era ill-prepared for life in the swinging '60s. Starkly photographed in black-and-white, The Plot Against Harry has a cinema vérité look that makes it even more appealing (a slick, Technicolor production wouldn't have been suited to this material at all). DVD extras on this nice-looking transfer include a "making-of" featurette, and filmmaker biographies. Not the greatest low-budget film ever made, but certainly a fascinating one, this is recommended. (E. Hulse)