The Getaway

The Getaway (1972)
Director: Sam Peckinpah

Doc McCoy (Steve McQueen) has been granted parole by a man named Beynon under the condition that he robs a bank! That's story idea behind this Peckinpah film. It moves along fairly slowly, until about halfway through when there is a chase scene inside a train. That was far and away the best part of the movie. Then the pace slows down again and continues that way pretty much until the end of the picture.

Ali MacGraw is gorgeous but her acting is not. She doesn't show a moment of emotion in the whole film, and her line delivery is just plain bad. You would think that since she was actually in a real life relationship with McQueen at the time they would have some sort of on screen chemistry, but alas that is not the case.

Steve McQueen's acting, as you might expect is a little better than MacGraws but I think he was held back by the dialog. There isn't much dialog in this film, but when there is it isn't all that impressive or important.

I found the sub-plot to be one of the most interesting parts of the movie. It involves a mans wife falling in love(?) with Rudy, the other criminal who is hunting down McQueen. Rudy forces a doctor and the doctors wife to bandage up his shoulder and then forces them both to drive him to Texas. The wife seems to like Rudy but you think "She is just trying to lull him into a false sense of security" but then as the film goes on you see that is not the case. The fact that a woman falls in love with a bad bad man is nothing new, but to do so enthusiastically and almost defiantly in front of the man who loves you is just a horrible thing to do to someone. I found it to be the most poignant part of the entire film. I can't say as I blame the husband for his reaction.

This isn't Peckinpah's best film. Apparently McQueen, who was a big star at the time, had a lot of sway over how the film was written, edited, and even scored; so maybe it isn't really Peckinpah's fault. Apparently he disowned the film after he saw the final cut. That may have been wise.

My rating: 3 out of 5