I'm not sure I'd agree with Time Out, who called it one of the key films of the seventies, but nonetheless a most interesting and successful neo-noir, in other words a traditional film noir but with 1970s sensibilities. British Alan Sharp's screenplay thus focuses as much on Hackman's marital difficulties as the missing girl, and ends equivocally. Halliwell described it as 'a smart-ass entertainment for eager trendies'!
Beautifully shot by Bruce Surtees and put together by Dede Allen, who does some great things between the actors, but also cuts a fight scene together in what seems like a slapdash manner - it works, of course. And the ending is a doozy. She also gets from scene to scene in a very direct manner, sometimes letting the sound roll into the next bit, or doing the opposite.
Stephen Rotter is co-editor - he did the crash at sea at the end - 'Don't worry' Dede told him, it'll be easy. Scenes like this are easy.' It was. Craig Mckay, future Oscar winning editor himself, is the sound editor.
Good cast: Susan Clark (wife), Jennifer Warren (Slap Shot), Edward Binns, Harris Yulin (having the affair), Kenneth Mars, Janet Ward (the mother), James Woods, Melanie Griffith, Anthony Costello.
I could write a whole book about the great American cinema decade of the seventies. I guess it might be an idea to read one first.
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