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I love this bittersweet story. I agree with other commentators that plot is not what drives this tale forward: it reaches a point where it's not longer important who did what to whom and why. What is important are the character portrayals, which are handled deftly by Art Carney, as aging private eye Ira Wells, and by a ditsy but lovable flower-child leftover played by Lily Tomlin. The supporting cast members are excellent.The other thing this little film has is atmosphere, in spades. It's 1970s L.A., with echoes of 1940s Raymond Chandler L.A. And director Benton makes good use of certain small iconic bits like the vast mountain of burial vaults, in the cemetery where we first meet the three principal characters, and the static last shot of an L.A. bus stop bench with Boris Karlof's Frankenstein face advertising the Hollywood wax museum.And finally: the title theme is a hauntingly moody torch song ("What Was is Just What Was"), which ought to be a jazz standard--right up there with "Laura." I love this movie and watch it once every few years, ideally late at night with a drink in hand.
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