Much has been made about the iconic stature of John Boorman’s treatment of Lee Marvin’s pet project, “Point Blank”. Marvin was a rising Hollywood star having won the academy award two years earlier and Boorman was a novice, British director, just starting out. When they met in London, they became good friends and Marvin demanded that not only Boorman direct the movie, but also that he be given full artistic control of it. From casting to final editing. The result is an unconventional crime drama with an implausible script and extremely violent narrative.
Marvin plays Walker, who is a criminal pulling off a heist with his wife and best friend Reese (John Vernon in his film debut). The heist takes place in the shutdown Alcatraz prison. Why the deserted prison could be used for storing dirty money, was beyond my comprehension. Walker survives the gunshot and goes about getting healthy and looking to extract revenge. His main motive however, seems to be retrieving the $93,000 he was supposed to have attained in the original heist. He goes about his business with the help of a mysterious and nefarious character named Yost (The always delightful Keenan Wynn). Yost wants, “The Organization”, for whom Reese now works for, and will help Walker get revenge and his money back in return for his getting to the top of, “The Organization”. Why he needs Walker to do this was never made clear to me. I do have my own theory that the entire movie after Walker gets shot is a final dream of a dying man. This is just a theory of course, and nothing in the movie makes it clear that this is actually the intent of the film.
There is very sparse dialogue throughout the movie and even less logic to its plot. Lee Marvin was perfect for the role of Walker. Marvin was a large man and had a cold harsh look of a killer. Boorman makes use of quick editing in his images of quick and loud flashbacks that give us an insight into Walker’s relationships with Reese and his wife. There is a fresh European feel to many of these quick running shots and sounds. For instance, we are shown Reese lying on Walker in the middle of some sort of club while claiming that only he (Walker) can help him while he begs for Walker’s trust. The exclamation of, “Trust me”, is pronounced over and over again through the semi-unconscienced mind of Walker and the flashback of the event. There is a bit of the spaghetti western Leone revenge flashback in these scenes. A slow motion flashback of Walker and his wife frolicking in the sea, relayed to me a French New Wave tone of love. There was even a scene in a car where the wife sits in the middle of Walker and Reese, that reminded me of the love triangle from Truffaut’s, “Jules and Jim”.
Regardless to these European stylistic touches, the majority of the movie revolves around Walker breaking in doors, hitting people and shooting without thinking. The violence comes quick and loud, which serves as a sort of inverse to Walkers quiet disposition (he hardly ever speaks). It should be noted that the police are nowhere to be found in the movie, even though people are beaten, shot and thrown off balconies. This further served to strengthen my conviction that I was watching the final dream of a dying man.
Reese has left Walker’s wife by the time the acts of revenge begin, and is now seeing the wife’s sister, played by the sexy Angie Dickinson. Here there develops another three-way affair that includes Reese and Walker. Dickenson claims to loath Reese, but seduces him in a hot and effective way. She is then shown physically attacking Walker before succumbing to his so called charms. Those charms include having no outside feelings for anyone. The scene where Dickenson’s character slaps and hits Walker with all her force is pretty powerful stuff. Walker remains unmoving through it all, almost as if he was incapable of feeling any pain. He then makes love to her. Their lovemaking then dissolves into a fantasy with Walker embracing the sister, then his wife, which dissolves into the wife’s embrace of Reese and then Reese’s embrace of the sister. This furthered my conviction that I was watching a dream.
“Point Blank”, is a stylized crime thriller that never works like a thriller. It carries no real suspense and is so fantastical in its tale, that it is impossible to believe and become invested in. However, if looked upon as a portrayal of a dying man’s dream, who ends his life through betrayal, it becomes a stylized American version of the European new wave. That is the way I prefer to see the movie.
1001 Movies before you die 