Decay of Fiction

L.A.'s legendary Ambassador Hotel provides the backdrop for director Pat O'Neill's avant-garde film The Decay of Fiction, which superimposes reenactments of classic Hollywood films onto shots of the dilapidated establishment.

Gangsters and their molls interact with icy blondes and wisecracking bartenders in carefully deconstructed snatches of dialogue and narrative that serve an intentionally distancing purpose. O'Neill's time-lapse photography further adds to the film's ethereal effect.