I keep wondering what draws people (and not just women) to prostitution. It seems such a sordid profession that offers nothing but degradation and humiliation to those involved in it. Other than money, what does draw people into the realm of this profession that has been around for so many years? From a physical point of view, it has got to get tiresome after a while. Maybe it is appealing from a psychological point of view. People profiting off of the needs and weaknesses of others may very well be the key selling point. To have control over another person is definitely an appealing prospect.
This was made clear when I saw “Klute” last weekend at the New Beverly Cinema, as it was shown in a double feature with “The Parallax View.” Both films were directed by Alan J. Pakula who had a talent for taking familiar stories and populating them with characters you can recognize in real life. The plot here revolves around the case of a missing man, and the private detective named Klute (Donald Sutherland) assigned to find him. The only lead he has is a prostitute named Bree Daniels, and she is played by Jane Fonda in one of her best roles.
Jane Fonda won one of her two Oscars for her performance in this classic 1970’s thriller. It is a wonderfully complex role for an actress to play, as we see that Bree is a struggling actress and model who finds a power and control as a call girl that she cannot find anywhere else in her life. In one of several meetings with her psychiatrist, we find that she doesn’t enjoy the physical part, but she does enjoy the act that she plays for all her “johns.” When she is with them, she considers herself to be the greatest actress in the world. She brilliantly exploits the weaknesses of her clients to gain a higher price for her services, and she enjoys the power and control that she has over them. Thanks to Fonda’s brilliant performance, you can clearly see why.
Jane’s performance reminded me of the great work of Elisabeth Shue in her Oscar nominated role as Sera in “Leaving Las Vegas.” Neither film here glamorizes the profession of prostitution, but we can see what appeals to both of the characters in this world. We see that they have a control over their clients that they do not have over anybody outside of that. Their power succeeds in hiding a need in their lives for something pure and real.
Bree ends up inadvertently finding this pureness through the character of Klute, a man as straitlaced and upstanding as he appears to be. Donald Sutherland has one of his best roles here as Private Detective John Klute who ends up succumbing to Bree Daniels’ charms, but who never really loses himself completely in his desires. Throughout the movie, he remains the source of hope and strength that Bree needs when she finds out that someone wants to kill her.
When she ends up sleeping with Klute, she thinks she has him right she wants him. She quickly intuits her strength over him as a result of him not making her come as a weakness on his part. But she finds herself losing this strength and power she has over men when she is with Klute. She finds that she likes being with him, and the fact of that scares her because she finds that love with someone truly frightens her. Whereas Bree feels like she is the greatest actress in the world when she is with a client, she feels at somewhat of a loss when she is with Klute. There is a beautiful moment when she is shopping with Klute at a local farmer’s market, and you can see the insecurity that is on Bree’s face. She feels strongly for Klute, and it frightens her. The addiction she has as a call girl may overwhelm what true love she has for him.
Alan J. Pakula does a great job of increasing tension throughout the movie, and this is heightened by the characters being down to earth. This is the case with the majority of Pakula’s movies like “All The President’s Men,” “The Parallax View,” or even “Presumed Innocent.” Even if the plots of some of his movies seem far-fetched, it is the reality of the characters and the world around them that sucks us into the movie. We believe that this could really happen in a world outside of the movies.
We actually find out who’s threatening Bree early on, so the whodunit element of this movie disappears rather quickly. This could have really screwed the movie over, but Pakula gets away with it here because we find that it is integral to the themes the movie explores: perversity sexually and mentally. Many think they are above it all, but there is a darkness inside of us that often goes unchecked. The more we repress it, the more explosive it will be when it is finally released. There are no real good or bad guys in this movie, just people trying to measure out what they feel is right and what is wrong, and some do a better job of it than others.
I guess that may be why this movie is called “Klute” and not Bree, which seems odd since the movie is mostly about her. But throughout the movie, Klute himself manages to keep his virtue and value system intact even after he gets intimate with the witness he has to protect. Klute’ strength of character, brilliantly and believably embodied by Sutherland, is what draws Bree in and helps open her to other possibilities in life that she hasn’t explored.
“Klute” stands as one of the best movies for Pakula and Fonda. You can see how easy it must have been for her to get the Best Actress Oscar as it was deserved for playing such an amazingly complex character. Jane Fonda has managed to play many different roles throughout her career, and she has done so with what seems like complete ease. To see her back onscreen after all these years is a kick. Of course, it would be even more of a kick if the movies she has done since coming back (“Monster In Law” and “Georgia Rule”) didn’t turn out to be crap.
I also need to (before I forget) that this movie features another great performance by the late Roy Scheider as Frank Ligourin, a pimp disguised as a record producer. Roy makes him unlike other pimps you may have seen in “Taxi Driver” or “Street Smart” in that Roy makes his character much more casual in his cruelty and control over who works for him. He doesn’t deal too much in force because it doesn’t suit him all that well, and it would affect his relationships with who works for him too easily.
The movie does have an anticlimactic ending, but maybe it just feels that way because we expect movies like this to end with some mano a mano battle that is overly choreographed. This is actually a big problem in a lot of Pakula’s movies. But maybe that’s because it would take away from the reality of the story. Either way, “Klute” is one of the most memorable movies to come out of the 1970’s.
**** out of ****
This was made clear when I saw “Klute” last weekend at the New Beverly Cinema, as it was shown in a double feature with “The Parallax View.” Both films were directed by Alan J. Pakula who had a talent for taking familiar stories and populating them with characters you can recognize in real life. The plot here revolves around the case of a missing man, and the private detective named Klute (Donald Sutherland) assigned to find him. The only lead he has is a prostitute named Bree Daniels, and she is played by Jane Fonda in one of her best roles.
Jane Fonda won one of her two Oscars for her performance in this classic 1970’s thriller. It is a wonderfully complex role for an actress to play, as we see that Bree is a struggling actress and model who finds a power and control as a call girl that she cannot find anywhere else in her life. In one of several meetings with her psychiatrist, we find that she doesn’t enjoy the physical part, but she does enjoy the act that she plays for all her “johns.” When she is with them, she considers herself to be the greatest actress in the world. She brilliantly exploits the weaknesses of her clients to gain a higher price for her services, and she enjoys the power and control that she has over them. Thanks to Fonda’s brilliant performance, you can clearly see why.
Jane’s performance reminded me of the great work of Elisabeth Shue in her Oscar nominated role as Sera in “Leaving Las Vegas.” Neither film here glamorizes the profession of prostitution, but we can see what appeals to both of the characters in this world. We see that they have a control over their clients that they do not have over anybody outside of that. Their power succeeds in hiding a need in their lives for something pure and real.
Bree ends up inadvertently finding this pureness through the character of Klute, a man as straitlaced and upstanding as he appears to be. Donald Sutherland has one of his best roles here as Private Detective John Klute who ends up succumbing to Bree Daniels’ charms, but who never really loses himself completely in his desires. Throughout the movie, he remains the source of hope and strength that Bree needs when she finds out that someone wants to kill her.
When she ends up sleeping with Klute, she thinks she has him right she wants him. She quickly intuits her strength over him as a result of him not making her come as a weakness on his part. But she finds herself losing this strength and power she has over men when she is with Klute. She finds that she likes being with him, and the fact of that scares her because she finds that love with someone truly frightens her. Whereas Bree feels like she is the greatest actress in the world when she is with a client, she feels at somewhat of a loss when she is with Klute. There is a beautiful moment when she is shopping with Klute at a local farmer’s market, and you can see the insecurity that is on Bree’s face. She feels strongly for Klute, and it frightens her. The addiction she has as a call girl may overwhelm what true love she has for him.
Alan J. Pakula does a great job of increasing tension throughout the movie, and this is heightened by the characters being down to earth. This is the case with the majority of Pakula’s movies like “All The President’s Men,” “The Parallax View,” or even “Presumed Innocent.” Even if the plots of some of his movies seem far-fetched, it is the reality of the characters and the world around them that sucks us into the movie. We believe that this could really happen in a world outside of the movies.
We actually find out who’s threatening Bree early on, so the whodunit element of this movie disappears rather quickly. This could have really screwed the movie over, but Pakula gets away with it here because we find that it is integral to the themes the movie explores: perversity sexually and mentally. Many think they are above it all, but there is a darkness inside of us that often goes unchecked. The more we repress it, the more explosive it will be when it is finally released. There are no real good or bad guys in this movie, just people trying to measure out what they feel is right and what is wrong, and some do a better job of it than others.
I guess that may be why this movie is called “Klute” and not Bree, which seems odd since the movie is mostly about her. But throughout the movie, Klute himself manages to keep his virtue and value system intact even after he gets intimate with the witness he has to protect. Klute’ strength of character, brilliantly and believably embodied by Sutherland, is what draws Bree in and helps open her to other possibilities in life that she hasn’t explored.
“Klute” stands as one of the best movies for Pakula and Fonda. You can see how easy it must have been for her to get the Best Actress Oscar as it was deserved for playing such an amazingly complex character. Jane Fonda has managed to play many different roles throughout her career, and she has done so with what seems like complete ease. To see her back onscreen after all these years is a kick. Of course, it would be even more of a kick if the movies she has done since coming back (“Monster In Law” and “Georgia Rule”) didn’t turn out to be crap.
I also need to (before I forget) that this movie features another great performance by the late Roy Scheider as Frank Ligourin, a pimp disguised as a record producer. Roy makes him unlike other pimps you may have seen in “Taxi Driver” or “Street Smart” in that Roy makes his character much more casual in his cruelty and control over who works for him. He doesn’t deal too much in force because it doesn’t suit him all that well, and it would affect his relationships with who works for him too easily.
The movie does have an anticlimactic ending, but maybe it just feels that way because we expect movies like this to end with some mano a mano battle that is overly choreographed. This is actually a big problem in a lot of Pakula’s movies. But maybe that’s because it would take away from the reality of the story. Either way, “Klute” is one of the most memorable movies to come out of the 1970’s.
**** out of ****
Great review.
Iconic film.