Review of Klute (1971) by Ben L — 30 Jul 2014

This is a noir-style mystery film about a man who disappears and the only clue they have as to his whereabouts are some smutty letters he wrote to a prostitute. So a family friend, John Klute, goes in search of the missing man and the truth of his illicit affair. What this film absolutely masters is creating a suspenseful mood. Michael Small, the man in charge of the music, was a genius at giving the audience an uneasy feeling of impending danger. I was never settled and expected that Jane Fonda could be assaulted at any moment. The problem with this haunting atmosphere is the fact that they never delivered on that tension. There was very little actual danger, and it never seemed all that out of control for Klute. The whole movie moved ridiculously slow, and sadly they spoiled the solution to the mystery about halfway through, taking away the one aspect that could keep things engaging.

Donald Sutherland plays the titular character, and is as expressive as a rock. I think he was aiming for the strong and silent type but usually a role like that is bolstered by having some underlying emotions, here there was no sign of that. He looked 100% emotionless from start to finish, to the point where I felt he would have been just as satisfied with Bree dying in the end. Bree is played by Jane Fonda, and she holds her own in Klute. They give her character a wide range of traits and put her through an emotional roller coaster, so it must have been a challenging part. I was terribly disappointed by the end, simply because I wanted a good mystery and I felt they did not provide it, particularly since they shared the solution too early. Hearing the details of why this particular person kidnapped the missing man was not enough to make an interesting conclusion. In my opinion Klute is not worth your time, because there are many better films in the genre.