The American Way... In the arena, the only beasts are the crowd.
Paul Newman, long known for his political views, has always fought in film and life against a rotten political system, racial intolerance and any trampling on human rights. Like another American idol, Marlon Brando, Newman participated in protests and criticized the authorities, for which he was instantly ranked as unreliable. I was on President Nixon’s list of personal enemies. And this is the greatest honor I have been given, he will say later.
Cinema, in modern times unhurried, at first imbued with life optimism, to the end turns into a bitter drama, revealing the true truth of life. The maturing problems of society, the fascistic moods in the 70s, the hypocrisy of the system disguised by pseudo-patriotic values. Here are just a few of the questions raised in this unquestionably moralistic film. Newman’s character is like a strained nerve, his dialogues are saturated with great power and this cannot but cause admiration during the viewing. I think that’s the kind of movie that should be awarded an Academy Award, not Pirates of the Caribbean and all that kind of entertainment that’s worthless. Unfortunately, political cinema has never been popular either with the mass audience or with distributors willing to make large commercial profits. But it is such a movie that makes people think, helps to timely identify the invisible abscesses of society and raise pressing political problems on the screen.
This is the second of four joint pictures of the actor with the famous director Stuart Rosenberg. And although the picture was not as successful as their previous hit “Coldblooded Luke”. That is why Newman took up the production of a notoriously disastrous film, realizing that only a personal contribution can change life for the better. He added another political film to his filmography. Not the last role in the film was played by the performer of the main female role Joan Woodward. Oscar-winning actress, and part-time wife of Paul Newman, made with him about 20 films. Bringing to the picture the drama that only added the necessary colors to the plot. But the main thing is that this movie is very vital, emotional and not empty, which is now a lot of...
9 out of 10