Alan Rudolph's Trouble in Mind: Tampering with Myths

by Caryl Flinn

Despite a career spanning over forty years, filmmaker Alan Rudolph has flown largely under the radar of independent film scholars and enthusiasts, often remembered as Robert Altman’s protégé. Through a reading of his 1985 film Trouble in Mind , Caryl Flinn demonstrates that Rudolph is long overdue for critical re-evaluation.  Exploring Trouble in Mind ’s influence on indie filmmaking, Rudolph’s dream-like style, and the external political influences of the Reagan era, Flinn effectively conveys the originality of Rudolph’s work through this multifaceted film. Utilizing archival materials and interviews with Rudolph himself and his collaborators, Flinn argues for this career-defining film’s relevance to American independent cinema and the decade of the 1980s. Amply illustrated with frame enlargements and set photographs, this book uncovers new production stories and reception contexts of a film that Flinn argues deserves a place in the limelight.

172 pages, Paperback

Published December 11, 2023

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and mostly unpretentious discussion of the uncelebrated Alan Rudolph neo-noir movie. Thankfully, there are cast anecdotes and a personal style to the writing where author Flinn acknowledges the movie's similarities to other neo-noirs of the 80s ("Blue Velvet", "Blade Runner") yet recognizes its unique (and political) meanings. If only my film professors assigned us theory reading as approachable as this book. No other decade was better deserving of the noir genre than the 80s. Excepting current times where a noir a day or a shocking political thriller would barely scratch the surface of society's pop culture coma, Rudolph's memorable, colorful movie had a special message for the Reagan era. And thank you, University of Michigan, for preserving all the film's archives, right down to the call-sheets and Kris Kristofferson's paycheck stub.