Review of Network (1976) by Brenton A — 08 Mar 2011

I'll tell you something, I was mad as hell. The 1977 nominee for Best Picture Network is eerily similar to today's The Social Network, except that instead of a status update, there is an obsession with the boob tube. It is simply lights behind a screen, yet North America was becoming consumed by what it offered. News, programs, entertainment have been available in your home for over 20 years at this point, and people are starting to lose sight of reality. Not actually, but Network's biting satire makes us believe that they did. As big of a time capsule as it is a shocking comedy, Network is a definitive and convincing homage to consumer culture in the 1970s.

A fictional television network named UBS runs into some hot water when their main news anchor named Howard Beale (the final performance of Peter Finch, who was the first to receive the Best Actor Oscar posthumously) goes off the deep end and claims he is going to kill himself on the air. This was a blessing in disguise, he makes front page news, and the network boss Frank Hackett (the fiery Robert Duvall) sees an opportunity. A chance for high ratings. Beale's old friend Max Schumacher (the brilliant and realistic William Holden) is opposing this crazed monstrosity. It would embarrass the network, but nevertheless, ratings always trump reason.

Considering that two years before this, a news anchor named Christine Chubbuck shot and killed herself live on the air, Beale's fictional tale obviously has some grounds for alarm. At the time, Network was hailed as a "hilarious, outrageous and brilliantly biting satire", but I barely saw anything funny about this. It is an exaggeration yes, but writer Paddy Chayefsky and director Sidney Lumet blur the line between reality and fiction so well, I could believe everything that was happening. Having not read up on the film before hand, I was concerned if this story was real. Television companies will do anything for ratings, so why not let a man rant about literally everything?

The ringleader of all this "madness" is aspiring producer Diane Christensen (the frantic and power-hungry Faye Dunaway). Taking advantage of Beale prophet-like abilities, they begin a program where he asks people to get mad. She can't even function in regular life without thinking about television. She represents the generation who grew up with a screen in front of them all the time. Sound familiar? It dictates her life, therefore she has no choice but to live it. Even when she becomes romantically involved with Max, their romance plays out like a bad sitcom. Except no one is laughing.

But why Beale? Why not a politician, an executive or a public speaker? Well, as Beale is told, "its because your on television dummy!" Network is genius in exploiting the addiction to mass media as well as showing just how powerful it can be. A little screen can inspire, scare and lift so many spirits. For 20 years, someone has told the people the news, and it's mainly bad news. Now, the public is being asked to do something about it. You want to motivate people, you ask them to get mad. Getting mad is eerily similar to getting passionate. It's a negative emotion, but a good feeling. That was the genius of Beale's show.

This was the last picture to win 3 of the 4 acting awards at the Oscars. Faye Dunaway, Beatrice Straight (who played Max's wife in Network) and the late Peter Finch all took home Oscars. No film has done that since. It's a testament to the power of casting and the creation of the characters. These aren't simple people shouting to the rooftops and reciting long, meaningful monologues (which they do). It is what those lines mean to the characters, their world and our world. Network crosses it's world and our world seamlessly. Like The Social Network, virtually every line has some sort of subtext, satirical bite and deeper undertones relevant to any person watching the film. And like The Social Network, time is an aspect that will only help the film flourish more.

What I've noticed about many epics that tackle a large subject matter, or take place over many years (Casino, L.A. Confidential, Wall Street to name a few), is that when there is a love story, it is usually hackneyed. They fall in love, their love has consequences, and ultimately the romance destroys the characters. Network seemed to be treading this trite territory, when Max and Diane started getting friendly in the sack, but then the romance has a purpose. It is an example of how pathetic Diane's life really is. Their romance progresses like a TV show: first a guilty excitement (an idea with the potential to get viewers), then a content flow of a relationship (or comfortable ratings), then the spiral into the acceptance that this relationship isn't going to happen (the cancellation of the show when it just isn't enough anymore).

But this romance goes a step further. Max is Diane's only link with reality. She will forever be lost, with her only meaning in life being the ratings she gets. It's displayed as a disease, and relationships need commitment. Hell, Diane can't even have an orgasm during sex with raving about how well the ratings did. A relationship is about two people, not a station. And as Max says, "You are a television incarnate, indifferent to suffering, insensitive to joy. All life is reduced to the common rubble of banality. Everything you touch dies with you." Couldn't have said it better myself.

I'm really surprised I don't see Network on more top 10 lists or memorable films, because this was a game changer. And I didn't have to live in 1976 to know it. I can't believe this was considered a satire at the time, and celebrated for its hilarity. It makes me wonder: what is The Social Network going to look like 30 years from now? Network combines a sublime script, a grade-A cast and beautifully balanced direction to create a film that hurts as much as it inspires. We are addicted to the internet the same way, but "as long as I can feel pleasure, and pain and love" then I will never lose touch with reality.