Review of On the Waterfront (1954) by Caitlin W — 20 May 2012

Great for it's day, which as you can tell was a long time ago.

When I first saw On the Waterfront, I missed the whole point; this is the sort of movie you have to see more than once to understand. It's certaintly not worth eight oscars (maybe three) but I can understand why it has garnered so much renown; it has a great story to work with.

The actors are all well-chosen for their parts and there are some interesting camera directions which suit the screenplay well. My favorite parts are when it shows high and low shots back and forth when Terry is trying to get Joey to come up on the roof to get his pigeon, when it focuses on Terry and Edie's faces when they're in the bar so you know exactly what's going on in their minds and when it jiggles at the end to show how Terry's vision is blurred after taking a beating from Johnny Friendly's sidekicks.

Marlon Brando is great as the charming bum, Terry whom Father Barry and Edie turn away from Johnny's influence. Eva Marie Saint looks classy and plays Terry's love interest with a strong sense of love, courage and integrity and Lee Cobb is sufficiently sinister as the corrupt union boss, Johnny Friendly.

My only quibble is the ending which struck me as a little unrealistic. Terry has been beaten black and blue, every rib cracked and yet Father Barry encourages him to go to work anyway to show Johnny that he's going to work like an honest man from now on instead of trying to stop him from exerting himself to death. He just fought Friendly to show him how proud he was of reporting him to the authorities so what more does he need to do to convince the crowd that he's a changed man?

Nevertheless, On the Waterfront is a good solid film with exemplary acting, great messages and a thought-provoking storyline.

Four Stars.