Starring: Elliott Gould, Marcia Rodd, Vincent Gardenia, Elizabeth Wilson

For this month’s Ridiculous <> Sublime we embark on slightly different territory, trading in our inclination towards the gleefully bombastic for a bleak and absurd worldview that only the most twisted minds of the 1970s could provide.

Based on a stage play allegedly seen by eleven people opening night, Little Murders was adapted for the screen by its creator Jules Feiffer with Elliott Gould as Alfred Chamberlain, an apathetic photographer who refuses to put up a fight. When Patsy Newquist (Marcia Rodd) comes to his rescue, her unwavering optimism compels her to try to “fix” him, and his fascination with her fortitude keeps him engaged enough to follow. Wills are tested amidst pervy phonecalls and sniper bullets, with a New York City hellscape reaching cartoonish heights. Directed by Alan Arkin, who also makes an appearance as a spiraling police detective, Little Murders is a collection of wild performances of some of the darkest humor that will roil your guts.