Seconds (1966)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Seconds (1966) – J. Frankenheimer

This is a strange and paranoid sci-fi drama that tackles major philosophical questions (such as, “what is identity?”) in the context of loneliness, anomie, generational gaps, and other major concerns of the sixties (and since).  John Frankenheimer had the wisdom to cast two different actors as the same man, Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph at first), who contracts with a company that promises to rebuild him as a new different person (a reborn named Antiochus Wilson, played by Rock Hudson), killing off his old self in the process (a hotel fire, in this case).  The first half of the film shows us Hamilton’s angst in trying to decide whether his life is worth keeping or ditching and the temptations of starting again (at middle age, with no financial concerns) in order to attempt to fulfil heart’s desires (as a painter rather than a banker), the desires that went unfulfilled in the old life.  The second half of the film shows us Hamilton reborn, with Rock Hudson doing an excellent job of playing a secretly older man trapped in a somewhat younger stud’s body, gamely or not so gamely trying to adapt to a more swinging crowd.  In fact, “trapped” becomes the operant word here as Hudson begins to feel he made a mistake…  Perhaps more interesting are the numerous parallels to Hudson’s own “double life” since he was in the closet at the time – some of his lines take on extra meaning if you think about the fact that he/Hudson was hiding his sexual orientation just as he/Antiochus Wilson is hiding the fact that he is/used to be Hamilton.  Cinematography in B&W by James Wong Howe is sometimes experimental and visceral (in keeping with Frankenheimer’s live TV beginnings).  Spooky titles by Saul Bass.  Psychodrama music by Jerry Goldsmith.    A downer, of course, but one that can really get you thinking.