Revolutionary, The (1970)

Revolutionary, The (1970)

Comments 4 comments

“I’m not cute; I’m not even nice!”

Synopsis:
A college radical (Jon Voight) frustrated with the slow pace of his campus group parts ways with his girlfriend (Collin Wilcox Paxton) and flirts with a wealthy young woman (Jennifer Salt) while working for an activist boss (Robert Duvall), and eventually aligning with a revolutionary bomber (Seymour Cassel).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • College
  • Jon Voight Films
  • Revolutionaries
  • Robert Duvall Films
  • Seymour Cassel Films

Review:
After debuting with Out of It (1969) and before helming Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag-Blues (1970), Paul Williams directed this adaptation of screenwriter Hans Koning‘s novel of the same name, about a discontented college student who is drawn towards increasing action and violence. Unfortunately, the protagonist here — named simply “A” — is as bland as can be; as played by Voight — on a roll after performances in Midnight Cowboy (1969), Out of It (1969), and Catch-22 (1970), and before starring in Deliverance (1972) — he’s simply dull and opaque.

We don’t learn much about where “A” comes from, why he became radicalized, or why he’s so instantly drawn towards a young woman-of-privilege (Jennifer Salt) he catches sight of. Other characterizations are similarly lacking in detail: Robert Duvall’s “Despard”, for instance, is unknowable:

… and all we understand about Cassel’s Leonard II (though perhaps it’s plenty) is that he’s able and willing to carry out immense violence.

Perhaps the most intriguing character is chain-smoking Ann (played by Paxton — best-known for her supporting role in To Kill a Mockingbird), though she’s not treated well by clueless Voight, and once again, we don’t really learn enough about her.

Note: Watch for Jeffrey Jones — Dean Rooney from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) — in his film debut here as a student activist.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • A seemingly realistic glimpse into a particular era and context

Must See?
No; this one isn’t must-see.

Links:

4 thoughts on “Revolutionary, The (1970)”

  1. First viewing (8/19/22). Not must-see.

    After watching this movie, I found a Roger Ebert review in which he could not stop singing the movie’s praises. That puzzled me; yet it didn’t – Ebert would often puzzle by way of films he chose to praise. I found it to be a sleep-inducing bore from beginning to end.

  2. I’ve stopped checking most of Ebert’s reviews since I tend to disagree with so many.
    This is an example of an adaptation where I feel certain there was more detail in the original novel that didn’t translate well (if at all) to the film – i.e., that weird little moment in a bar where Voight sees a middle-aged woman and chats with her but we never learn about what? That’s the kind of detail a book might include but which simply doesn’t work in a movie like this unless we’re given more info; the screenplay seems full of gaps like that.

  3. Does it matter if one disagree’s with an opinion? I disagree with many of Peary’s, Siskel’s, Ebert’s, Maltin’s, Norman’s yours etc I still read them and give them a hearing.

  4. I definitely read critics whose opinions I differ with, all the time – but when someone consistently approaches movies from such a different perspective, I find I can’t relate. With Peary, there are enough times when he’s spot on that I keep going (obviously!), and simply have fun when I do disagree. And I love finding creative reviews to quote from, whether I disagree or not. 🙂

Leave a Reply