The Pettifogger

The first feature-length work by Lewis Klahr takes a unique approach to a familiar genre. Ostensibly a thriller that traces events in the life of an American gambler and con-man, circa 1963, The Pettifogger is described by the filmmaker as an abstract crime film and, like many other crime films involving larceny, a sensorial exploration of the virulence of unfettered capitalism. Characters lifted from comic books move through an impressionistic landscape of textures, photographs and drawings, populating a story whose narrative is suggested but not strongly defined.Employing a range of iconography and appropriated audio to expand his signature style of collage animation, Klahr recycles symbols of popular culture to address themes of the loss of innocence and the irresistible allure of wealth.

-Mark Webber