Review of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) by Malcolm D — 06 Oct 2009

I recently read Roger's review of this movie and I've got to say, although Roger was young and bubbling with his new-critic fervor back then, and thus perhaps a little more willing to go against the grain simply to go against the grain, I almost disagree with him in nearly every way. He gave Butch Cassidy 2.5 stars because the film, he says, starts out great, with great scenes, and then dives once the "posse" is established and they're being chased. He says the director just fell in love with the scenes filmed out west, in the mountains, and loved them so much he couldn't edit them out.

Well, I think the scenes filmed in the mountains were the best in the movie. The dialogue is best there, the plot is at it's most raw and engaging, and we hardly have to deal with the uninteresting, if not half-assed and confusing "love" story that tries to tag along for the ride. The dialogue in the first act is borderline ridiculous, too cute, awkwardly paced, the timing is all off, and the acting overdone.

The third act is somewhat of an anomaly, and really the whole film really feels like three separate acts (which I'm sure wasn't unintentional). There are hilarious lines and moments scattered throughout the whole movie, which even now, 40 years later, resound well.

If I agree with Roger on anything it's that the ending perhaps doesn't fit just right. He says, upon the bloody finish, "we don't believe it." I think that might be true. I haven't quite decided for myself, but I do know that when they conversed about Australia, discarded the notion of any real trouble, then strolled out into the open guns a blazing, I kind of rolled my eyes and sighed and tossed it off as a disappointingly forgettable ending. The two of them are too smart for that, first of all. Second of all it strikes an odd, uncomfortable note to me because of how it clashes with the comic nature of the movie. It feels like forced martyrdom.