Point Blank
Directed by John Boorman
Written by Alexander Jacobs, David Newhouse, and Rafe Newhouse from a novel by Donald Westlake
1967/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Winkler Films
First viewing/Netflix rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
[box] Walker: Somebody’s got to pay.[/box]
Non-linear neo-noir is blessed by a sterling cast.
Lone gangster Walker (Lee Marvin) is prevailed on by his boss, Mal Reese, to join him in a heist of cash stored on Alcatraz Island. (The prison there had been closed by this point). They pull off the job. Reese discovers that his share will not be enough to pay his debt to the organization. He steals Walker’s share and leaves him for dead on the isolated island. Reese has already taken up with Walker’s wife Lynne.
We are not shown exactly how he does it, but Walker comes to be one of the few people to ever escape from the island. He then begins a single-minded pursuit of his $93,000. He needs to climb higher and higher in the organization chart. No one will acknowledge a debt to Walker. Concurrently, Walker gets an unlikely side-kick when he meets up with his wife’s sister, Chris (Angie Dickinson). Body count mounts throughout. With Carroll Conner and Keenan Wynn as big shots.
I thought this was pretty good. The acting is all first rate and the direction is stylish. I’m not big on non-linear stories but this one was easy to follow. Does well with unstated comparison between Walker and the Organization as a metaphor for the individual vs. the Establishment.
