Influence follows the same plot concept as Scorsese’s The King of Comedy, where struggling comic Robert De Niro kidnaps famous TV celebrity Jerry Lewis in order to get his act seen. It was a clumsy, dull picture that flopped hard in its time, only getting revisionist love years later when it was identified as an inspiration for the R-rated Joker movie. Just like Carpenter, Moore takes the original sparks of the decades-old film and builds a mile-high bonfire. Yes, I am actually saying Influence takes on Scorsese and outplays him on his own court. Moore took the skeleton of a weak film and has put it into a completely outstanding production. In a weird way, this justifies Scorsese’s faith in the original flop, as Influence shows The King of Comedy idea really can result in a wonderful film. Just not for Marty.
Patricia (Cheyenne Perez) raises a gun in a tense confrontation in Influence.
“Moore took the skeleton of a weak film and has put it into a completely outstanding production.”
The first huge improvement on the Scorsese original was that Moore makes both of his leads likable, instead of each being equally despicable. Yes, both Ashley and Patricia’s characters have identifiable aspects of extreme examples of their types. Ashley comes across as the ultra-typical influencer, telling people to be positive repeatedly while polishing her image for commercial use. Patricia is the ultra-typical aspiring auteur, holding on to the aspiration of cinema as high art, devoted to making films that move her as much as Varda’s Vagabond or Campion’s Sweetie. Both women are stuck in their respective types, but then Moore does something that gets mentioned later in Influence: he makes them both honest and genuine. You get over what they are trying to be and start getting to know who they are.
Moore also nails the kidnapping scenario by having everyone react how real people would react in real life, instead of how it would play in a movie. This generates a lot more emotional engagement with the two leads, as you start to identify with both simultaneously. The spectacular cinematography by Alice Millar destroys all risk of claustrophobia from the static settings inherent to tying people up. The endless card deck of camera angles she deploys gives Influence the look of a Michael Mann picture. It is simply a remarkable indie film that doesn’t need any kind of robots to work at all, just like what Patricia was envisioning. I am going to see it again, and maybe again after that. Influence steps out from the shadow of a master with an even bigger shadow cast. This is a classic hiding in plain sight; go for it.
"…takes on Scorsese and outplays him on his own court."
