Review of Easy Rider (1969) by Jeroen V — 31 Jan 2014

Possibly as close to an American film Tragedy as any made.

Whether knowingly or not (probably not) the finished movie, in it's plot, dialogue and deftly inserted score fulfills the requirements for Tragedy, even if the protagonist and tragic character (Fonda) is neither high born nor noble. There seems a sense of inevitable doom from the time they leave the commune and certainly every event after is another descent to the end. As Wyatt says: "We blew it." Yes they did; probably from the minute they dealt the drugs for the money for the trip to Mardi Gras, and certainly from the time Billy pressured Wyatt into leaving the commune to continue their trip to Mardi Gras, the bad trip in the cemetery and Billy giving the finger at the end to the rednecks in the pick-up leading to their violent end.