Touches You

Boring

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Pragmatic and resolute career criminal Doc McCoy (the always cool Steve McQueen in fine steely form) gets released from prison only to be forced by corrupt big wig Jack Benyon (a splendidly sleazy portrayal by Ben Johnson) to rob a bank. After the heist goes awry, Doc and his dutiful wife Carol (a solid and affecting performance by the lovely Ali MacGraw) go on the run.Director Sam Peckinpah, working from a hard-hitting script by Walter Hill, tells the gripping story with remarkably meticulous detail and precision (the fumbled robbery and a harrowing set piece that takes place inside of a garbage truck in particular rate as total pips), vividly evokes a harsh world in which both loyalty and morality are completely up for grabs, generates plenty of nerve-rattling tension, and stages the rousing action set pieces with breathtaking skill. Moreover, the strained romantic relationship between Doc and Carol gives this film a surprising amount of genuinely touching heart. The top-rate supporting cast helps a lot: Al Lettieri as scurvy double-crossing brute Rudy Butler, Sally Struthers as ditsy slut Fran Clinton, Jack Dodson as Fran's meek husband Harold, Bo Hopkins as sleazy hotel owner Laughlin, Richard Bright as a weaselly small-time thief, Bo Hopkins as the easygoing Frank Jackson, and Slim Pickens as a helpful good ol' boy pick-up truck driver. The get-down funky score by Quincy Jones hits the right-on groovy spot. Lucien Ballard's crisp widescreen cinematography offers a wealth of stunning visuals. But it's the impressive way that Peckinpah grounds everything in a sordidly plausible everyday reality that in turn makes this movie quite resonant and powerful. A real corker.

While the movie "The Getaway" certainly has the kind of entertainment people look for in a 1970s crime movie - action scenes that pack a punch, slimy antagonists that you hope will get what they deserve (actor Al Lettieri really makes a good villain) - what really makes the movie interesting are the unexpected touches. The two central characters (McQueen and MacGraw) that we follow throughout the movie, for one thing, aren't terribly likable. They not only abuse in various ways assorted people along their journey, they also subject each other to abuse as well. Yet oddly, while you'll dislike them, they are interesting enough that you can't help but keep watching to see how they will end up. Another interesting factor is that the movie seems to be commenting on masculinity - what makes a man a true man, and how a man should act in various situations. I don't want to spoil things, but I will mention it's seen with both McQueen and MacGraw as well as the subplot with Lettieri. You might not agree with director Sam Peckinpah and scripter Walter Hill on their opinions on masculinity or how lead characters should act, but what they have to say is definitely interesting, and just one aspect of why "The Getaway" is worth a look.

As this film ably demonstrates, literally and symbolically, if you aim a shotgun at a big enough target, you're gonna hit something. This film takes a lot of the more controversial and distasteful aspects of "The Wild Bunch" and "Straw Dogs" and presents them devoid of all philosophical content. It's a triumph of style over substance. I get it -- in 1972, McQueen and Peckinpah were both in need of a box-office hit. So they got Ali McGraw, who can't act to save her life but manages to get halfway there in this film, and off they go on a crime spree. Author David Weddle noted in his book on Peckinpah that the director made off with about $500,000 at the end of the day -- the same amount McQueen and McGraw's characters made from the heist. Fitting.It's not a "bad" movie.... the performances are underwhelming, pretty much all around (Ben Johnson disappears too quickly to make much more than an impression), but the action scenes are compelling and the suspense is strong. The story does not make a lot of sense.... for example, Johnson's character is sitting there in the house with all that loot just waiting for McQueen, under the assumption that McQueen's wife is going to betray him. This powerful, cynical man had no back- up plan whatsoever? Time and again, Peckinpah puts pedal to the metal and blasts right through story and character logic, but we don't mind too much.It's sort of a high-class drive-in movie.... not quite as much mayhem as "Gone in 60 Seconds", but close. McQueen and McGraw are a super sexy couple, and there's an amusing (although sadistic) side story with Sally Struthers and the suitably disgusting Al Lettieri. It's the sort of film Jack Hill would make if he had a bit more money; the stuff that Tarantino fans' dreams are made of.

Doc McCoy (Steve McQueen) is released on parole. His wife Carol (Ali MacGraw) is dutifully waiting for him. Sheriff Beynon (Ben Johnson) got him out in exchange for Doc to do a bank job worth at least $500k. Beynon assigns him Rudy Butler (Al Lettieri) and Frank Jackson as his crew. The bank job goes wrong. Frank kills a guard. Rudy shoots Frank. Rudy tries to shoot Doc but Doc beats him to the draw. Rudy wearing a bullet-proof vest survives. Benyon also tries to doublecross Doc with Carol's help but Carol shoots Benyon instead. Carol slept with Benyon trying to get Doc out of prison. Meanwhile Rudy kidnaps a couple (Jack Dodson, Sally Struthers).Director Sam Peckinpah gets to do a lot of action with a simple thin plot. The characters aren't that deep. The couple has a good turn in the story. The tension is surprisingly not that high. It's an action road film that needs more excitement. While the action is good, the movie is very slow a lot of the times. It really only has Peckinpah's action going for it and he's using too much slow motion action. While Rudy's story is a bit different, I'm not really invested in him or his captives. Also I would have made Doc a harder man. Carol is right. He's not hard enough. However the movie has got good Peckinpah action but not much else.