Black & White World

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)

From around the mid-1960s through the late-1970s, Hollywood tried to convince us over and over again that Jane Fonda was a great actress (even going so far as to award her an Oscar for Klute).  I don’t see it, myself, but then I suppose that is a matter of taste.  Her co-star here, Michael Sarrazin, comes off as sort of a brunette clone of Robert Redford (read: not very interesting, but pretty blue eyes).

Those casting issues aside, I had problems with the narrative that continued to bother me long after the movie was over.  It’s never explained why Jane Fonda’s character is such a bitch, or why she’s so desperate, or why she should give a rat’s ass if this boy she just met wants to get off in a closet with some other woman.  Yeah, it’s the Great Depression, and yeah, she didn’t make it in Hollywood, but fucking A—people have it a whole lot worse than she does, what is her problem?  Maybe there’s more about that in the novel that just isn’t covered here, but it should have been.  Also, the ending is telegraphed from about twenty minutes in.

So why four stars?  Three words, people:  Gig Fucking Young.  Amazing work.  Also the relentless scenes of the dance marathon, particularly the grueling derby sequences.  I knew about dance marathons and knew they were quite popular for a time, but I had no idea they went on for WEEKS.  Days, yes, but not weeks.  Sydney Pollack admirably conveys the desperation of the time and of the participants.  The supporting cast was all quite good as well.  I think it’s well worth seeing just for Young’s performance, if nothing else.

1. Is that all you can say about this movie?  Why bother posting a review in the first place?

   “Yeah, it’s the Great Depression, and yeah, she didn’t make it in Hollywood, but fucking A—people have it a whole lot worse than she does, what is her problem?”

   She was broke and desperate . . . like a lot of people in the Depression.  Some people could take it.  Some couldn’t.  Jane Fonda’s character - Gloria - couldn’t in the end.  She was not YOU.

   Posted by  on  05/22  at  09:36 PM

2. Gee whiz.  Settle down, Lee.  We can discuss this rationally.  It’s just a movie.

   My point was that it wasn’t explained WHY she was so desperate, what made her more desperate than anyone else in that marathon.  Without that major piece of the puzzle, the whole movie was built on a shaky foundation.  It didn’t work for me.

   Of course she wasn’t me.  No one would watch a movie about me.

   Posted by  on  05/22  at  10:11 PM
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