Being There main backdrop
Being There main poster

Being There

Visit website

7.6/10 • 1K

1979-12-192h 10m

ComedyDrama

Getting there is half the fun; being there is all of it!

A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television.

Directors
Hal Ashby
Editors
Don Zimmerman

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Peter Sellers

    Peter Sellers

    Chance

  2. Shirley MacLaine

    Shirley MacLaine

    Eve Rand

  3. Melvyn Douglas

    Melvyn Douglas

    Benjamin Rand

  4. Jack Warden

    Jack Warden

    President 'Bobby'

  5. Richard Dysart

    Richard Dysart

    Dr. Robert Allenby

  6. Richard Basehart

    Richard Basehart

    Vladimir Skrapinov

  7. Ruth Attaway

    Ruth Attaway

    Louise

  8. David Clennon

    David Clennon

    Thomas Franklin

  9. Fran Brill

    Fran Brill

    Sally Hayes

Reviews1

View Reviews
Filipe Manuel Neto Avatar

Filipe Manuel Neto

Nov 22, 2023

9/10

Peter Sellers' big farewell in a film that highlights his more chivalrous side. There are films that, even though they're good, cannot be consensual, and this is one of them. It's a film that conquers admirers as easily as it accumulates people who didn't understand it or didn't like it for whatever reason. I confess that I liked it, but I can understand both sides. The film has qualities, but it also presents a story that is not pleasant, and that is so far-fetched that it could never actually take place in real life. The film presents a friendly character who is not easy to be indifferent to: Chance is a gardener who loves what he does and is very good at taking care of plants, but who was educated in a very informal way, confined inside a man's house. boss he served his entire life, without ever leaving, without ever going to school, without having any idea of the world around that house. The only glimpse of the world he had was through television, which he watches daily and with pleasure. When the boss dies, he is evicted from that house by lawyers who were not even aware of his existence. Without education, home or even documents, he wanders around the city and, by luck, ends up in the house of a very rich banker, ingratiating himself with his family with his adages which, however vague and inconsistent they may be, are taken as authentic pearls. of wisdom. I have no doubt that there are very wise people in the world who have never set foot in school nor know how to sign their name. These are people who, having not had the opportunity to attend education in their lives, replaced it with a rich life experience and have very valuable empirical knowledge. I know people like that. However, it is inconceivable that someone has lived their entire existence within a house where they serve without ever leaving for anything, and without having documents of any kind. The script makes a mistake here, it exaggerates its proposition, and people's reactions afterwards are equally exaggerated and unreasonable. I recognize this. However, the beauty of the tale created around the figure of this gardener, who never loses his purity, his kindness, is undeniable. And we really have to surrender to Peter Sellers' magnificent performance. The actor provides us with a discreet and elegant work in which he highlighted his best features, a restrained, almost aristocratic posture and slow, absolutely clear and well-pronounced diction. Unfortunately, he is almost the only actor to deserve a positive rating: Shirley Maclaine, Melvyn Douglas and Jack Warden are good, but they appear absolutely bland and disinterested here.

Media

  • Being There poster
  • Being There poster
  • Being There poster
  • Being There poster
  • Being There poster
  • Being There poster
  • Being There poster
  • Being There poster
  • Being There poster

Recommendations

  • Emperor of the North main backdrop

    Emperor of the North

    6.7

  • The Desperate Hours main backdrop

    The Desperate Hours

    7.0

  • Autumn Marathon main backdrop

    Autumn Marathon

    7.4

  • Topper main backdrop

    Topper

    6.7

  • Coming Home main backdrop

    Coming Home

    7.0

  • Uomo d'acqua dolce main backdrop

    Uomo d'acqua dolce

    6.7

  • The Smallest Show on Earth main backdrop

    The Smallest Show on Earth

    6.6

  • Alt-Right: Age of Rage main backdrop

    Alt-Right: Age of Rage

    6.0

  • No Backdrop

    Alive Inside

    7.5

  • Love and a .45 main backdrop

    Love and a .45

    5.7

  • The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu main backdrop

    The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu

    4.7

  • Adventures of Zatoichi main backdrop

    Adventures of Zatoichi

    6.7

  • The Journey to Melonia main backdrop

    The Journey to Melonia

    6.8

  • No Backdrop

    Icarus

    9.0

  • No Backdrop

    The Happy Film

    6.3

  • No Backdrop

    Vinilici

    6.5

  • The Best Democracy Money Can Buy main backdrop

    The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

    7.2

  • A Change of Seasons main backdrop

    A Change of Seasons

    5.6

  • Foxtrot main backdrop

    Foxtrot

    4.7

  • Bela Donna main backdrop

    Bela Donna

    5.0

Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
$30,177,511.00
Keywords
usa presidentwashington dc, usabased on novel or bookidentityautismimpotencebotanistphilosophical