Middle-aged, simple-minded Chance lives in a wealthy old man's townhouse in Washington, D.C., along with the man's African-American maid Louise, who is kind to Chance. He has spent his whole life tending the garden and has never left the property. Other than gardening, his knowledge is derived entirely from television. When the old man dies, his estate lawyers order Chance out.
He wanders aimlessly, discovering the outside world for the first time. An African-American youth points a knife at him; Chance ineffectually tries to click him out of existence with a TV remote control. Passing by a TV shop, Chance sees himself captured by a video camera in the shop window. Entranced, he steps backward off the sidewalk and is struck by a limousine chauffeuring Eve Rand, the glamorous and much younger wife of elderly business mogul Ben Rand. When she asks him his name she mishears "Chance, the gardener" as "Chauncey Gardiner".
Eve brings Chance to their palatial estate to be seen by a doctor who is resident there caring for Ben, who is slowly dying from a blood disease. After checking the now Chauncey out, the doctor invites him to stay to keep an eye on him.
Chauncey’s manners are old-fashioned and courtly, and he wears expensively-tailored but outmoded clothes from the 1930s he took from his former employer’s attic. When Ben meets him he takes "Chauncey" for an upper-class, highly-educated businessman fallen on hard times. Ben admires him, finding him direct, wise and insightful.
Ben is also a confidant and advisor to the President of the United States, whom he introduces to Chauncey. In a discussion about the economy, Chance takes his cue from the words "stimulate growth" and talks about the changing seasons of the garden. The President misinterprets this as optimistic political advice and quotes "Chauncey Gardiner" in a speech.
Chance now rises to national prominence, attends important events, develops a close connection with the Soviet ambassador, and appears on a television talk show during which his detailed advice about what a serious gardener should do is misunderstood as his opinion on presidential policy. Louise tells other African Americans as they watch Chance on TV that he has "rice pudding between the ears" and that whiteness is all that is needed to succeed in America.
Though Chance has now risen to the pinnacle of Washington society, the Secret Service and some 16 other agencies are unable to find any background information on him. Meanwhile, Ben's personal physician, Dr. Allenby, becomes increasingly suspicious that Chance is not a wise political expert and that his mysterious identity may have a more mundane explanation. Allenby considers telling Ben, but remains silent when he realizes how happy Chance is making him in his final days.
The dying Ben encourages Eve to become close to "Chauncey". She is already attracted to him and makes a sexual advance. Chance has no interest in or knowledge of sex, but mimics a kissing scene from the 1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair, which happens to be on TV. When the scene ends, Chance stops suddenly and Eve is confused. She asks what he likes, meaning sexually; he replies "I like to watch," meaning television. She is momentarily taken aback, but masturbates for his voyeuristic pleasure, not noticing he has turned back to the TV and is imitating a yoga exercise on another channel.
Chance is present at Ben's death and shows genuine sadness. Questioned by Allenby, he admits that he "loves Eve very much" and also that he is just a gardener. When he leaves to inform Eve of Ben's death, Allenby says to himself, "I understand."
While the President delivers a speech at Ben's funeral, the pallbearers hold a whispered discussion over potential replacements for the President in the next presidential term, and unanimously agree on "Chauncey" as successor. Oblivious, Chance wanders off through Ben's wintry estate. He straightens out a pine sapling flattened by a fallen branch, then walks across the surface of a lake without sinking. He pauses, dips his umbrella deep into the water to the right of his path, then continues on, while the President is heard quoting Ben: "Life is a state of mind."
Cast
Peter Sellers as Chance the gardener (Chauncey Gardiner)
Burt Lancaster was Ashby's first choice for the role of Ben Rand.[8][9]Laurence Olivier was also considered for the role, but turned it down because of the masturbation scene.[8][10]
Filming
Principal filming occurred at the Biltmore Estate, the largest private home in the United States, located in Asheville, North Carolina.[11]
According to MacLaine, "(Peter) believed he was Chauncey. He never had lunch with me... He was Chauncey Gardiner the whole shoot, but believing he was having a love affair with me."[12] The original ending as written in the script was filmed; it shows Eve finding Chance by the lake, they declare they have found each other, and both walk back together.[13] However, Ashby was unhappy with this ending so he had a platform submerged in the lake for Sellers to walk on, creating the film's enigmatic final scene.[14]
Melvyn Douglas's granddaughter, Illeana Douglas, visited the set and met Peter Sellers, who is her favorite actor. She has since credited the film for inspiring her to pursue a career in acting. According to Illeana, Sellers and Douglas had known each other since the 1940s, when they first met in Burma during World War II. They often reminisced about their war days while on the set.[15]
The making of the film is portrayed in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, a biographical film of Sellers' life.
Music
Incidental music is used very sparingly. What little original music is used was composed by Johnny Mandel, and primarily features two recurrent piano themes based on "Gnossiennes" No. 4 and No. 5 by Erik Satie. The other major pieces of music used are the Eumir Deodato jazz/funk arrangement of the opening fanfare from Also Sprach Zarathustra and "Basketball Jones" by Cheech and Chong. These pieces respectively accompany the title credits and Chance's first arrival to the Biltmore Estate.[16]
The film opened to positive reviews and gave Sellers a hit after many failed films outside of the Pink Panther series. Film critic Roger Ebert awarded a full grade of four out of four stars in his original print review.[23]Gene Siskel also gave the film a perfect grade of four stars, calling it "one of those rare films, a work of such electric comedy that you are more likely to watch it in amazement than to break down and laugh."[24]Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it "a stately, beautifully acted satire with a premise that's funny but fragile."
[25]Variety called it "an unusually fine film" that "represents Peter Sellers' most smashing work since the mid-1960s."[26]Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "a gentle, exquisitely funny film," adding that "Sellers hasn't been so terrific—or had such terrific material—in years."[27]
Vincent Misiano reviewed Being There in Ares Magazine and commented that "the film's humor never flags and yet its delicately bitter irony is never far away. It satirizes politics and politicians, business and businessmen, and, finally, all the rest of us and what we imagine we see when we look at one another."[28]
In 2006 Roger Ebert mentioned the reaction of his students to the final scene (which is unique to the film, not appearing in the book),[29] stating that they once suggested that Chance may be walking on a submerged pier. But, Ebert writes "The movie presents us with an image, and while you may discuss the meaning of the image, it is not permitted to devise explanations for it. Since Ashby does not show a pier, there is no pier — a movie is exactly what it shows us, and nothing more."[30]
The credits at the film's end roll over an out-take known as the "Rafael outtake." Sellers was displeased that the out-take ran because he believed that it took away from Chauncey's mystique.[31] He also believed that it prevented him from winning the Oscar.[15][32]
As of 2023 the film holds a score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 8.60/10. The critical consensus calls it "smart, sophisticated, and refreshingly subtle."[33] In 2003, The New York Times placed the film on its Best 1000 Movies Ever list.[34]
The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma: Being There is said to bear a strong resemblance to this 1932 Polish novel, and the film's originality became a subject of controversy in 1982. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska wrote "most Polish critics immediately recognized [his book] as a version of Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy by Tadeusz Dolega-Mostowicz.[46]
Politics in fiction – a list of other fictional stories in which politics similarly features as an important plot element.
Dasein – Existence, concept from Heidegger's philosophy
Notes
^Robert C. Jones worked extensively on the screenplay. He has said that both he and Kosiński initially shared a writing credit, but the Writers Guild of America overruled the decision and awarded Kosiński sole credit.[1]
Nichols, Peter M.; Scott, A. O.; Canby, Vincent (2004). The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made. New York: Macmillan. pp. 93–94. ISBN0-312-32611-4.
Sikov, Ed (2002). Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers. New York: Hyperion. ISBN0-7868-8581-5.
Tichi, Cecelia (1991). Electronic Hearth: Creating an American Television Culture. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-507914-0.
