I never got to see Lenny Bruce perform. Apparently, he broke the mold when it came to political and social commentary. He was down and dirty with social mores. But under all that was a depressed fragile man, a drug user, an alcoholic. He had trouble relating to his audiences and yet they adored him. So he was willing to put it out there while he lived in darkness. Dustin Hoffmann's performance is without peer. He manages to get the edginess into his delivery and be that person. The black and white allows us to not be distracted by colors that would take away our sensations. We follow Lenny Bruce as he fights for sanity amid a world where he has trouble seeing the upside.
