Director: John Schlesinger
Writer: Waldo Salt (Screenplay) James Leo Herlihy (Novel)
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles, John McGiver, Brenda Vaccaro, Barnard Hughes
Plot: A naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune but, in the process, finds himself a new friend.
Tagline – Whatever you hear about Midnight Cowboy is true.
Runtime: 1 Hour 53 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Powerhouse Performances Classic
Story: Midnight Cowboy starts as naïve Texan hustler Joe Buck (Voight) heads to New York City to try his act. Arriving in the big apple things don’t start the way he had planned and after meeting local hustler Ratso (Hoffman) he learns a hard lesson on who to trust.
When the two end up becoming friends they work their act in New York with Ratso trying to save for a trip for Florida, where he see the dream to be. The two on finding a way to get rich and what they gained is a friendship.
Thoughts on Midnight Cowboy
Characters – Joe Buck is the cowboy from Texas, he has worked the area dry, well he seemed to have had an honest job there, wanting more in the big city he heads to New York, an overly friendly young man gets eaten up in the city to start with before making a friend that tries to teach him how to hustler the big city. Ratso is the New York hustler, he is disabled which makes his role better in the management role which he takes to guide Joe through the situations, though he isn’t well and now needs Joe more than anyone ever in his life. We only focus on these two with their clients that come into the situations they find themselves in.
Performances – Jon Voight in the leading role is fantastic, we see he bring the naivety through in his character that is mostly harmless man trying to find his way in the world. Dustin Hoffman also excels in his role which went against everything people knew about him at the time of the release, showing he was always going to be one of the generations best actors.
Story – The story here follows a naïve cowboy hustler in the big apple where he learns about trust, friendship and how survive the world of a gigolo. This does show how people will need guidance to understand the world even if it meant giving up everything for that chance. the two friendship is the most important part of the film because we see how Ratso is sick and needs Joe Buck to help him too. We see how the friendship keeps both moving forward in life and that is the important factor in the story.
Settings – We have the coach journey which heads to New York city which of course is a brilliant because the scale of the city is something Joe Buck wasn’t ready for.
Scene of the Movie – Coach journey together.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – There wasn’t anything.
Final Thoughts – This is one of the true classics in cinema, we have two stunning performances from the leads and a story that teaches us about friendship.
Overall: Brilliant must watch film.
Rating
