The first X-rated film to win an Oscar. For a film made in the 60's it still feels fresh to this day, and is a devastating, seedy, tragic story of two guys trying to make it on the streets of New York, by stealing and being male prostitutes. All of this is done respectively by Jon Voight as the prostitute and Hoffman as Rico, the ill pickpocket with big dreams.
The acting is perfect, as is the script-writing really, with Jon Voights deluded, Texan cowboy, and Dustin Hoffman as the ill, constantly shivering Rico - yet Hoffman has done better, and that was in Rain Man, as an autistic man. The chemistry between the two is immense, with Voight looking after Hoffman as he is a cripple. The ending to this film will make you realise how good the two actors were together, a brilliant buddy movie if I ever saw one.
The imagery is good, if slightly disturbing, with some scenes of Voights� characters past, while out of his mind during during a drug binge at a hip party, especially warped. A worthy mention is one of the sex scenes at the start of the film, where they are doing the business, and they are on the remote controls to the TV. Now we see the TV flicking through channels in a blur, which was really funny!
The film does slow down a little in the middle which messes up the pace, but don�t worry the ending speeds things up to a devastating finale, which I think will make many viewers cry (this one did!).
So a great film then, one worthy of your attention, if a little bit gritty in scenes, but just watch it for the great chemistry between Hoffman and Voight in this sexy, gritty drama, of two guys who want to get free of the pains of life. |
