Review of Midnight Cowboy (1969) by Zack B — 15 Mar 2010

Certainly I enjoy this film because of the 60s style that it evokes. I've always been in wonderment of that time and the movies of that time. That energy. That sense that freedom is absolute. John Schlesinger employs that "60s style" in Midnight Cowboy, but that's not the important thing.

The important thing that appeals the most to me, is the sense of alienation for Joe Buck and Rico. They are living in a vibrant and amazing time, but they don't know it. They're just trying to survive.

You can say what you want about Midnight Cowboy, but there is no denying that Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman give us two undeniably honest performances. In my personal view, Mr. Hoffman's performance is the greatest in the history of cinema.

I'm not going to argue about it. That's why I said, "personal view." There are just some performances that affect some people more than others. The same can be said for movies. I think this is a movie that has its followers and then it has those who really don't think much of it.

I've never encountered one who "hated" it, and I think that's because even though you might not like the movie in general, you just can't help but love Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman.

Voight plays Joe Buck, a young "cowboy" from Texas looking to score gold in New York. He wants to become a "hustler," meaning he wants to be a male prostitute. In his words, "The only thing I was ever good for was loving.

" It's what he is good at. But what he finds out is that he's good at it in Texas, not New York. The women in New York don't fall for his cowboy routine. Hoffman plays Rico, though some call him Ratso, much to his dismay.

Rico is the guy who knows the streets. His only hope is his skills at the art of the con. He is not attractive, he is not clean, and he is crippled. However, he is loyal to Joe, and through that loyalty (established after the guilt he feels from conning Joe), Joe and Rico create a beautiful friendship.

As actors, Hoffman and Voight create not only a pair of estranged drifters, but also a pair of two desperate human beings, clinging to each other for hope. What is the hope? Florida. New York is where they are now.

It is portrayed as a dark, dirty, and hopeless town full of insane individuals who also are trying to survive. I think it's a great thing that the director was British in order to make New York look that way.

Florida is made to look like paradise, which, it really is considering what Joe and Rico go through on a daily basis. In New York, they're no different than anyone else. The two are just another couple of hopeless nobodies trying to survive.

In Florida, they'll be attractions, they'll be stars. That is the hope, and I think that's the major appeal in the movie besides the performances and that "60s feel." Everyone has a Florida.

Unfortunately, Joe and Rico seemed doomed from the moment they start living together. Death seems to follow them. (Notice how Rico's apartment building is filled with Xs, particularly on the windows.

His room number is 24...that's X in the alphabet. And X is kind of a representation of death. For example, the X's on cartoon characters' eyes when they "die." ) Both Joe and Rico lost a loved one, Joe his grandma and Rico his father.

As a result, this movie is essentially about the strong friendship between these two men, and their struggle to survive and become new men. New men with a standing in society. It's an underdog story so to speak, but it's not a cheezy one.

Don't expect butterflies and flowers. Expect reality, raw emotion, and immense power. Expect a great classic.