Patsy (Marcia Rodd) and Alfred (Elliott Gould) meet when she rescues him from a beating on the crime-ridden streets of New York City. Patsy is immediately taken aback by Alfred's apathetic approach to life, which is in stark contrast to her ardent optimism. She pursues and ultimately marries him in the hopes of changing him. However, as random acts of violence break out across the slowly-unraveling city, Alfred and his new family descend further into the insanity surrounding them. Featuring hilarious performances from the late Donald Sutherland, as well as Alan Arkin (his debut feature as director), LITTLE MURDERS remains a curiously contemporary piece of filmmaking: a briney, black-as-coal satire, still relevant for a modern world spinning faster and faster out of control.

Samm Deighan is a New York City–based film historian, author of The Legacy of World War II in European Arthouse Cinema, editor of Revolution in 35mm: Political Violence and Resistance in Cinema from the Arthouse to the Grindhouse, and host of the Eros + Massacre podcast.