Review of Midnight Cowboy (1969) by Alex F — 05 Dec 2009

The 50's and the 60 practically marked the era for great Western films. A lot of cowboy films were out then. Remember John Wayne in "The Searchers", Gary Cooper in "High Noon", Clint Eastwood in "The Good, the Bad, the Ugly?, Paul Newman and Robert Redford in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" etc.

Midnight Cowboy, I thought that it's a Western, but it's actually not. It's a psychological drama-comedy-crime movie set to hook you up and think.

Midnight Cowboy is a "semi-Western" drama film directed by John Schelsinger in 1969. It is based on a novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy in 1965. The movie stars Dustin Hoffman as Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, a crippled scam who lives in New York and John Voight as a Texan local cowboy-wannabe named Joe Buck who later moved to New York for opportunities.

The movie starts just like any of those Western films. Joe Buck (Voight), a cowboy wannabe and a huge fan of John Wayne was introduced singing while taking a shower. Country music was playing; I think it was Harry Nilsson's "Everybody?s Talkin'". Then screenplay rolled in.

Joe decided to go to New York for a new job since his dish-washing career bored him. He went to the city with his cowboy outfit, a bag, and an old radio. He told people around when asked, "I ain't a real cowboy, but I am one hell of a stud!" He picked-up women and he got picked-up by men and women. He had that job temporarily. At first, he was hesitant but after learning the basics, he learned to enjoy it. He learned to mix pleasure with pain. He always had flashbacks of his past, especially his childhood.

In his stay in New York, Joe met Ratso (Hoffman), a disabled little tramp who had him tricked for a couple of bucks for introducing him to a known pimp but turned out to be a religious guy. Joe sought after Ratso in New York to make him pay for what he did. He did not fail. But in the end, he pitied Ratso because of his condition. He was crippled; he could hardly walk, and had a heartbreaking case of tuberculosis. Ratso introduced Joe to his home, messy but inviting. They lived together in that little apartment having to earn their money from prostitution, pick pocketing, and scamming. The rest is for you to find out.

At first, it was a Western, then it turned out comedy, then sexual, thriller, and finally drama. It was a blast. This film surely has it all. Dustin Hoffman, he looks like the young Al Pacino in this film. He always has the young boy charisma that everybody loves. He set the film in intense drama towards the end. He is an excellently convincing actor.

Acting-wise, I give him a deserving grade of 5. One simple reason, he made me want to cry. I can't describe the feeling every time I look at him in this film. Ratso was that physically weak, emotionally strong individual that captures the hearts of audience. Some scenes in this film are, I guess a bit overdone, but, ooh! I loved his acting. Same thing goes with John Voight, he did not fail in portraying his role, a semi-mad cowboy who had the empathy for his friend. I so loved this movie. Actors are great. Editing is magnificent. I love how the scenes are well-planned and well-situated in this film. As for the music, they made use of pop folk country hits that are much appropriate to accent important parts in the film.