Midnight Cowboy (1969) ****
Midnight Cowboy (1969) is one of those classic, much-heralded films that, while I don't hold it in quite the same esteem as a lot of folks, I recognize how influential, important, and exceptional it is.
Dustin Hoffman and John Voight's performances are impeccably honest and seamlessly natural. They portray the (at that time) cinematically unique friendship (or is it more?) of two down on their luck men who, despite hurling insults at each other, care deeply for one another. Director John Schlesinger and cinematographer Adam Holender's vision is grimy, varied, realistic, and, at times experimental (flashbacks, dream sequences, the party scene). John Barry’s (uncredited!) brilliantly simple, harmonica-heavy theme song, along with Harry Nilsson's memorable tune "Everybody's Talkin'" (used numerous times throughout the film) provide the appropriately melancholic mood to match the story.
The ending of Cowboy has an interesting parallel with Hoffman's previous, star-making performance in The Graduate (1967)—in both films, the two leads end up on the back of busses, on the path to new lives, but in reality unsure of what the future may hold.
Dustin Hoffman and John Voight's performances are impeccably honest and seamlessly natural. They portray the (at that time) cinematically unique friendship (or is it more?) of two down on their luck men who, despite hurling insults at each other, care deeply for one another. Director John Schlesinger and cinematographer Adam Holender's vision is grimy, varied, realistic, and, at times experimental (flashbacks, dream sequences, the party scene). John Barry’s (uncredited!) brilliantly simple, harmonica-heavy theme song, along with Harry Nilsson's memorable tune "Everybody's Talkin'" (used numerous times throughout the film) provide the appropriately melancholic mood to match the story.
The ending of Cowboy has an interesting parallel with Hoffman's previous, star-making performance in The Graduate (1967)—in both films, the two leads end up on the back of busses, on the path to new lives, but in reality unsure of what the future may hold.
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