“Sometimes a character in a movie inhabits his world so freely, so easily, that he creates it for us as well. Ben Gazzara does that in Saint Jack ... and what a revelation it is .... here everything is right again. Everything.””
Ben Gazzara stars as Jack Flowers, an American hustler trying to make his fortune in 1970s Singapore in small time pimping. He dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel himself and returning to the States to lead a life of luxury. Savvy but not unsavory he strikes up a friendship with William Leigh (Denholm Elliot), a genial and decent auditor who travels to Singapore every year.
Based on the novel by Paul Theroux and shot on location in Singapore, Saint Jack is suitably grubby and low-key - while Ben Gazzara is simply brilliant in his portrayal of a low(ish) life struggling to altenately nurture and bury a conscience.
