Review of The Getaway (1972) by Karl V — 25 Jul 2011

I have a major soft spot for 70's crime movies. They are just so damn gritty and it seems that more of an emphasis was placed on suspense building rather than explicit action. So when I sat down with director Sam Peckinpah's 1972 heist film, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this film is a clinic in suspense building.

I wasn't surprised that Peckinpah could make a good film. In fact, I absolutely love the Wild Bunch and Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia. What surprised me was how lean the film was. With his film such as Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid being a bit on the self indulgent side, I wondered what he would do with a simple heist film. In essence, and with the pun fully intended, he cuts to the chase.

It is a story about a man in search of a clean slate and Pekinpah never strays from that. Sure he takes a couple of scenes to build up the malevolence of the antagonist, but other than that he keeps it to McQueen. I have never been too impressed with McQueen in the past, but the director manages to get a really good performance out of him.

But back to my point, the editing is so tight and the directing so sharp that this film just drives. (Too many puns?).

For those Peckinpah fans, don't worry, it still has all of the trappings of the director. There is some very unglamorous violence, misogyny, and plenty of people falling in slow motion.

Could the film have benefitted from more character development? Always. But I don't know whether to attribute that flaw to the director or the limited range of MacGraw. While I know her character goes through some changes in the film, the actress doesn't display them well.

All in all, a great heist film and proof that Pekinpah was quite a force behind the camera.