Review of Sadgati (1981) by Cael M — 09 Jul 2013

Deliverance is nothing short of a breathtaking movie, and it's probably most remembered for its "squeal like a pig" scene and sadly, not for its brilliant suspense and powerful themes. It's a very unsettling film that starts off like an upbeat, peaceful, and somewhat light-hearted journey of four friends bonding on a trip and having fun, but later takes a turn as they are conflicted with trouble. It's not what you would call a "fun" movie, as it has elements of horror even thrown into it, and the environment is unsettling and gruelling. Although at times it does feel like a horror movie, it's more of a realistic situation of conflicts rather than what an actual horror movie feels like, where the villain is running around killing people. This is a film that haunted me for days, with scenes that I won't forget anytime soon.

Deliverance is more of a character study then a film with a progressing plot, although it does build off of its premise. Deliverance is about four "adventurers" taking a canoeing trip down a river in Georgia- Ed Gentry (Jon Voight), Lewis Medlock (Burt Reynolds), Bobby Trippe (Ned Beatty), and Drew Ballinger (Ronny Cox)- before a dam project ruins the river. They were expecting a simple, exciting trip but their journey takes a turn for the worse as they encounter dangerous and troublesome situations, leading to a nightmarish survival story. All the characters here are diverse and very convincing. Lewis is the sort of person who doesn't exactly care about the risks of canoeing, and sympathizes the fate of the river that they're canoeing in. He comes across as the guy who's "one with nature". Ed seems like the more nervous, mature guy who is overly cautious and wants to make sure that everything is fine, as opposed to Lewis who's taking the risk without considering any of the dangers. Bobby is the sort of guy who's reluctant to be obedient, and is the most out of shape of the group. Lastly, Drew resembles a childlike, kind personality, especially as he carries his guitar around and participates in an upbeat "duelling banjo" scene with a mute, inbred boy during the first few minutes, and considering the fact that he always has a grin on his face.

As these four adventurers head to a small town before embarking on a trip, they are warned that they're foolish people for participating in such a journey, especially as they're travelling on an uncharted section of the river. However, for the first few minutes of the film before they really embark on their trip, the environment and atmosphere feels somewhat peaceful and happy. The adventurers joke around and they are somewhat ignorant towards the locals at the town, but Drew goes on a "duelling banjo" encounter with a boy, and it really is an exciting scene. It's very fun and happy to watch, but in a way, the scene masks what's eventually coming. It gives you a sense of hope and happiness, before the conflicts occur and take down your spirit, but it also shows Drew as a character as well. The whole scene feels very ominous, and that the whole film can't be this light-hearted. Apart from that, there really isn't much music in this film, and the film often benefits from that as oddly, it gains more tension, especially with the constant background noises of water flowing and birds chirping. The film also looks great, with beautiful scenery of gorgeous forests and rivers, but John Boorman, the director, shows that even landscapes as beautiful as these, can turn out to be very hostile and dangerous areas.

As the film progresses and our main leads start their journey, for about a day, everything goes well and successfully. They're bonding for the day, and the relationships between the characters are more apparent. However, the film's tone changes in the blink of an eye as the dawn of the new day begins, and then the famous "squeal like a pig" rape scene happens. This scene is actually terrifying and disturbing because it's something that can actually happen, and rather than unrealistic horror films where someone is running around with a chainsaw killing everyone in sight or something like that, this is a more realistic approach at a hostile territory. There are lots of close up shots in the scene, making it more than terrifying enough. In fact, I found many scenes in this movie to be excruciating and hard to watch, but effective to say the least. The themes of this movie are brilliant, and very powerfully portrayed, even poetically. The violence is there for a reason, and its symbolic significance shows a lot about humanity. Although the main characters are ignorant, they didn't do many hostile acts to provoke the locals in the town to really deserve a fate like that, but they, in a way, do represent civilization destroying the local way of life. They represent humans' dominance of nature, and their mistake is the fact that the group assumes that they're in control. It just shows that the wilderness isn't full of romantics and heroic adventurers, but dangerous, hostile people. Everything about the movie perfectly reflects human nature, as well as the complex, powerful theme of man vs nature.

Deliverance is a terrific, haunting thriller that is deliberately paced, but if you can cope with it, you'll be rewarded with a brilliant, absolutely unforgettable survival story. I won't be forgetting the "duelling banjos" scene or the "squeal like a pig" scene anytime soon, but more importantly, I won't be forgetting Deliverance's symbolic significance anytime soon, either. It's a nightmarish trip that starts off as a seemingly simple, peaceful bonding story of canoeing, but ends up as an intense, ugly (with a beautiful visual style, that is) thriller. The performances are convincing, the atmosphere is gruelling, and everything about the film feels unsettling. Although it's more of a character study then a movie with a progressing plot, it's a very effective one, with these four leads stuck in a disturbing situation and are trying to find their way out. Deliverance is an amazing movie, and is just as unnerving as it probably was in the '70s. Deliverance is a true masterpiece, and is an absolute must see.