Mountain FogRETROSPECT: KLUTE (1971)
June 15th 2009 07:59
The 1970s was a rich time in American filmmaking, and one of the hallmarks of the era was its concern with a growing public paranoia in the United States. A confusing war in Vietnam, the Watergate scandal and the explosion in private surveillance all contributed to a listless American public struggling to find a political and social equilibrium.
The director from the decade best remembered for working with the issues of public paranoia is Alan J. Pakula. With Klute, The Parallax View (1974) and All The President’s Men (1976), Pakula created a stirring trio of films on the subject, and while the latter two had political skulduggery as their focus, Klute was much more concerned with the individual suffocation that occurs through the slow erosion of personal space.
The central character of the film is the troubled Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda), a highly skilled New York call girl and aspiring actress. Bree’s anxieties are elucidated for the audience through a string of conversations with her psychiatrist, during which she explains her disconnection from the physical aspects of the job and the simultaneous feeling of empowerment she derives from being in control of her johns.
But a series of breathless phone calls and obscene letters seem to upset Bree’s crotchety self-determination. They also coincide with the arrival of John Klute (Donald Sutherland), a private detective from rural Pennsylvania who’s come to Manhattan to settle a missing persons case. The missing man is a friend of Klute’s and could perhaps be an old client of Bree’s as well as the source of the letters and phone calls.
Thus develops a strange relationship between call girl and PI, the two becoming increasingly entwined with each other as Klute seeks Bree’s help in finding his friend, and Bree seeks the protection of Klute as the walls of her bed-sit seem to close in upon her.
Klute is a puzzling film. Approaching it purely as a thriller could lead to disappointment, as the identity of the spook is known early on in the piece. But there’s much more going on within the perfectly formed frames of this film, and the spine of the tale is the fascinating relationship between Bree and Klute.
Bree in particular is a character brilliantly drawn by screenwriters Andy and Dave Lewis, and it’s impossible to think of her being put to screen any better than Jane Fonda’s amazing portrayal. Bree is neither hooker with a heart of gold nor calculating ice queen; she’s a real person with carefully erected defences and a need to get to the bottom of her own motivations.
It’s that realness that makes her slow breakdown fascinating to watch, and it’s perfectly in tune with the way Pakula and cinematographer Gordon Willis have framed the action. Fonda is often shot over the shoulder of the character she’s talking to or shown through a window, as if the audience has been invited to fully bear witness to her frailties. There’s also the replaying of audio surveillance tapes made by Bree’s stalker, each a slight variation on the last as we listen to the quietly persistent seduction she applies to her assortment of clients; it’s titillating and disturbing, the electricity of Fonda’s distinctive timbre heightening the voyeuristic tone of the moment.
Jane Fonda takes you to Bree Daniels' dark places in Klute.
Bree’s carefully applied salaciousness is in stark contrast to Sutherland’s Klute, whose incorruptible character becomes a beacon of decency in the grimy New York of the film. Klute refuses to be enticed by Bree’s needling temptation, and yet seemingly respects the real person buried underneath the brazen façade. Sutherland is note perfect, and a real chemistry develops between the two characters as they are pushed more and more towards each other.
It’s this dedication to its central characters that not only focuses the entire film - meaning that even when we know the identity of the stalker, tension is still present due to how much we care for Bree and Klute - but also allows the filmmakers to really flesh out the subtext of New York’s urban decay, as well as focus on Klute’s themes of claustrophobic helplessness and urban paranoia.
Ultimately, Klute is superb filmmaking, its apparent simplicity masking a film with plenty to say about the era in which it was born. It’s a great example of fastidious minimalism - from the cinematography down to an amazing score courtesy of Michael Small - with even the tiniest of details working to support its potent, character driven nature. Klute’s quiet electricity and often-austere beauty means it remains one of the great cinematic achievements of the early 1970s.
Check out the trailer for Klute below:
| 56 |
| Vote |
Comment by Janet Collins
Acceptable Etiquette
The Social Critic
Janet Collins Blog
I love Jane Fonda and I'll have to say this is one of her best.
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by MVD
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
I highly recommend the Film Score Monthly CD release too, not only does it have Michael Small's superb contribution but David Shire's equally fine score from All the President's Men on the same disc. A brilliant double-header!
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Dave - that is a fantastic double header on the score front.
This is great, but I tend to think Presidents is the slightly superior movie. Even though it's not the focus of the film, the thriller aspect of Klute could have been done a little better in my opinion, but perhaps I just like to have my cake and eat it too. Thanks for reading!