“Paper Moon” (based on the novel “Addie Pray” by Joe David Brown) is set in 1930s Kansas. It’s distinguished by being shot in period-accurate black and white, much like Bogdanovich’s previous film, “The Last Picture Show.” Ryan O’Neal stars as Moses “Moze” Pray, a con artist posing as a Bible salesman. After his acquaintance and one-time lover Essie Loggins dies, he’s tasked with escorting her daughter Addie (O’Neal’s real daughter Tatum) to her aunt in Missouri — because while he denies it, Moze is probably Addie’s father himself.
They “have the same jaw,” as several people note, and, of course, casting a real father and daughter pair in the roles is a telling choice. Though Moze and Addie don’t often get along, they develop an undeniable bond, and the crafty-beyond-her-years Addie becomes not only Moze’s passenger but also his business partner.
Now 52 years old, “Paper Moon” enjoys a vaunted legacy. It’s a bit lighter than contemporary New Hollywood films like “The Godfather” or “Bonnie and Clyde” (“Paper Moon” is a comedy first) but no less excellent. Tatum O’Neal, who was nine-years-old when “Paper Moon” premiered, is the youngest ever Oscar winner for her performance. Every film or series featuring a man and (surrogate) child on the road together, from “A Perfect World” to “Logan” to “The Last of Us” to “The Mandalorian,” has some “Paper Moon” in them.
Dulau, when noting the “Paper Moon” comparison Gilroy was going for, stated she finds the relationship between Kleya and Luthen much darker than Addie and Moze:
“Luthen came to Kleya’s people, and he had a hand in destroying them all. That day can never be erased. It can never be forgotten. They can’t just forgive and forget that; it’s too huge an event. So, that darkness stays with them in a way that makes their story quite unique … What Luthen did to her people all those years ago, or what he contributed to, is horrifying. So, that can never go anywhere, but their love grows incidentally around it.”
To continue the comparison: Moze is a philanderer, criminal, and still has a lot to learn about being a father when the credits roll, but it’s not like he killed Addie’s mother. With Dulau’s words in mind, it feels as if Kleya only came to love Luthen because he gave his life over to her revenge. Their bond was forged with the acknowledgement they’d done or experienced horrible things, respectively, and would stop at nothing to achieve justice.
