“The only reason I came back to this craphouse was to find out who did it — and I’m not leaving until I do!”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Hello, engine; I’m Jake Holman.”
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To that end, his insistence on rigorous maintenance while aboard the San Pablo becomes the catalyst driving two key narrative threads: his contentious relationship with his superior (Crenna, whose only interest lies in continuing to manifest a strong American “presence” in China), and the racial tensions that ensue when he tries to take over responsibilities traditionally handled by Chinese “coolies”.
Given its lengthy running time (nearly 3 hours) and epic ambitions, there’s a lot more going on in The Sand Pebbles than “just” Jake’s identity as a naval engineer. His inevitable romantic interest is played by Candice Bergen (just 19 years old!) as a do-gooding teacher — but the primary romantic subplot is filled by Jake’s shipmate Richard Attenborough and his Eurasian flame Maily (Emmanuelle Arsan), whose “forbidden” love affair has tragic consequences.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of exciting action sequences sprinkled throughout, and Joseph MacDonald’s cinematography brings the Chinese landscape to vibrant life. But the film isn’t uniformly entertaining: the story immediately begins to drag whenever Attenborough and Arsan’s romance is given screentime, and despite an initial attempt at humanizing the Chinese (as evidenced in Mako‘s Oscar-nominated performance as a doomed “coolie” who briefly befriends McQueen), they ultimately turn into an amorphous mass of “Others”. Nonetheless, McQueen’s impressive performance is reason enough for film fanatics to check this film out at least once. Note: Wise was apparently so proud of his work on this film that he hosted annual cast reunions for years after its release; click here for a website devoted exclusively to the film. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“What you did was an act of war; but selling information — that’s treason, rotten treachery for money.”
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and Jorge Rivero is surprisingly uncharismatic as her French-Mexican love interest and Wayne’s right-hand man.
Meanwhile, Wayne (who was already suffering from the cancer that eventually killed him) seems to be mostly walking through his scenes.
In his review, Peary spends a substantial amount of time analyzing Wayne’s character, who he notes comes across as “less of a superman”, “less dominant than in early films, and mellower”, “more of a father figure than a leader” — but it’s difficult not to interpret these characteristics as merely symptomatic of his personal exhaustion, and perhaps a weariness with the type of cliched roles he was being asked to play again and again (throughout his lengthy career, he starred in nearly 250 movies — of which no less than 36 are listed or discussed in Peary’s book!). Howard Hawks completists and/or fans of Wayne will likely be curious to check out this rather pedestrian western, but all-purpose film fanatics needn’t bother. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“If you smoke, they’ll see you.”
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The dark comedic potential in this set-up is effectively mined. Fortunately, there’s something to enjoy in each of the other two segments as well; it’s impossible not to feel one’s heart in one’s mouth during “The Ledge”, for instance:
… and I’m impressed by Carlo Rambaldi’s troll in the third segment (the scene in which the troll slowly sucks breath directly out of Barrymore’s sleeping mouth is truly haunting).
Best of all, it’s nice to see cats getting such a good rap here — and it should be noted that the multiple tabbies enlisted to “play” the central feline character do an impressive job (at the very least their handler, Karl Lewis Miller, should be applauded!).
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“I married you because I wanted to mold you!”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“What’s marriage got to do with love?”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“What I’d really like to do is be faceless, and bodiless, and left alone.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Indeed, many have noted that a more accurate title for the film would be Bree, given that she, rather than Klute, is really the central protagonist; Klute himself (Sutherland gives a mellow, restrained performance) is merely a catalyst in Bree’s well-ordered life — someone who subtly “convinces” her to open up emotionally to a man for the first time, and take a risk. Bree’s sessions with a psychotherapist (Vivian Nathan) — which were apparently semi-improvised by Fonda — are particularly revealing, and help us understand that Bree finds “her job liberating because she feels in control in her life only when turning tricks”; thus, her “movement toward real-life liberation takes a dramatic leap when she learns to trust Klute”. Fonda’s vulnerable, nuanced performance is the primary reason to watch this flawed but engaging and atmospheric film. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Whoever killed Long is a hero in my book.”
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… as is the cast of supporting players — including Christopher Plummer as Weaver’s pro-Israel boyfriend:
… James Woods as Hurt’s co-worker and friend:
… and Pamela Reed as Hurt’s long-time girlfriend:
Meanwhile, the final climactic scene in a stable is most creatively staged.
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“I shoulda robbed people with my brain instead of a gun.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Parallels between Thieves Like Us and Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde (1967) are inevitable, given that both tell stories about “everyday” citizens during the Depression who are drawn to the glory and seemingly simple allure of bank robberies (indeed, no guards or policemen are ever shown nearby; Carradine and his team simply get away without a problem). To that end, Altman noticeably chooses “to treat the action sequences the same as the dialogue scenes, without suspense or exciting climaxes” — most likely because “Carradine himself doesn’t regard the robberies and shootouts as particularly interesting events in his life”; he’s much more concerned with making it back to his true love, “simple, scrawny” Keechie (Duvall), who possesses a strange appeal despite her odd looks (it’s easy to see why Carradine’s needy character falls for her). Duvall is excellent here, as are Carradine and the other male leads. Schuck — playing a psychopath — becomes increasingly terrifying as the film progresses, while Remsen is uniquely memorable as the oldest of the three thieves, who nonetheless possesses the strongest libido. As always with Altman’s best films, part of the allure of Thieves Like Us is waiting to see how events will unfold, since nothing is telegraphed ahead of time, and Altman strategically leaves out certain “key” scenes (i.e., only one bank robbery of several is actually shown on film, and the death of a major character is simply mentioned). Throughout, we feel like we’re simply watching “real life” as it happens — which is why the bloody climax (which deviates noticeably from the film’s previous air of hyper-realism) is a bit of a let-down; Altman utilizes slow-motion rather than allowing the scene to play out in “real time” as it should. This is a minor complaint, however, about an otherwise bleakly powerful film, one which leaves a lasting effect, and should be seen by all film fanatics at least once. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“I don’t think you two should be kissing while I’m suturing.”
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Unfortunately, however, the film completely fails to live up to its initial potential. Most egregiously, Dooley’s character comes across as obnoxious: he’s pushy, self-absorbed, and possessive (he beats up another man who wants to go out with Heflin), and is rarely worthy of our sympathy.
Meanwhile, waifish Heflin is, despite her fine voice, utterly unbelievable as a backup singer in a communal rock band (her bandmates are all ten times more energetic than her), and her distractingly skeletal body makes one cringe for her well-being.
Side stories involving members of Dooley’s overbearing Greek family fall utterly flat:
… as does a recurring visual “joke” involving a true “perfect couple” (Fred Bier and Jette Seear), whose presence is meant to serve as a comedic counterpart to Dooley and Heflin’s troubled courtship.
The film’s primary redeeming quality is Heflin’s band (“Keepin’ Em Off the Streets”), whose incessant rehearsals inappropriately dominate the screenplay, but ultimately provide a welcome respite from the tedious storyline. Note: Watch for charismatic Ted Neeley (“Jesus Christ Superstar”) as the band’s domineering lead singer — what inspired casting!
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