Klute | |
---|---|
Directed by | Alan J. Pakula |
Written by |
|
Produced by | Alan J. Pakula |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Gordon Willis |
Edited by | Carl Lerner |
Music by | Michael Small |
Production company | Gus Productions |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 114 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $2.5 million |
Box office | $12.5 million [2] |
Klute is a 1971 American neo-noir psychological thriller [3] [4] film directed and produced by Alan J. Pakula, and starring Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Nathan George, Dorothy Tristan, Roy Scheider, and Rita Gam. Its plot follows a high-priced New York City call girl who assists a detective from Pennsylvania in solving the missing person case of a john who may be stalking her. [5] It is the first installment of what has informally come to be known as Pakula's "paranoia trilogy", followed by The Parallax View (1974) and All the President's Men (1976), all films dealing with themes of paranoia, conspiracies, and surveillance. [6] [7]
The original screenplay for Klute was written by brothers Andy and Dave Lewis, with Andy drawing inspiration from a serial he read as a child about a man attempting to solve his brother's murder in a city. Principal photography took place in late 1970 and early 1971 in New York City.
Klute was released theatrically in the United States on June 23, 1971, by Warner Bros. to critical and commercial success. Reviewers praised the film's direction and screenplay, with Fonda's performance receiving widespread critical acclaim, while the film grossed over $12 million against a $2.5 million budget.
Klute received two nominations at the 44th Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay, with Fonda winning Best Actress. At the 25th British Academy Film Awards, Fonda received a nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role. At the 29th Golden Globe Awards, it received a nomination for Best Screenplay, with Fonda winning Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.
After Pennsylvania chemical company executive Tom Gruneman disappears, the police find an obscene letter in Gruneman's office addressed to a New York City call girl named Bree Daniels, who had received several such letters. After six months of fruitless police work, Peter Cable, a fellow executive at Gruneman's company, hires family friend and detective John Klute to investigate Gruneman's disappearance.
Klute rents an apartment in the basement of Bree's building, taps her phone and follows her as she turns tricks. Bree appears to enjoy the freedom of freelancing as a call girl while auditioning for acting and modeling jobs, but she reveals the emptiness of her life to her psychiatrist. Bree refuses to answer Klute's questions at first. After learning that he has been watching her, Bree says that she does not recognize Gruneman. She acknowledges having been beaten up by a john two years earlier, but cannot identify Gruneman from a photo. She further admits to Klute that she is a nervous and paranoid person. Bree takes Klute to meet her former pimp Frank Ligourin, who had managed Jane McKenna, a prostitute who had referred the abusive client to Bree. McKenna has apparently committed suicide, and their other colleague Arlyn Page has since become a drug addict and disappeared.
Klute and Bree develop a romance, although she tells her psychiatrist that she wishes their relationship would end because she felt more in control of herself when turning tricks. She tells Klute that she is paranoid that she is being watched. They find Page, who tells them that the photo of Gruneman is not that of the client, who was an older man. Page's body is later found in the river. Klute connects the apparent suicides of the two prostitutes, surmising that the client was using Gruneman's name. He also thinks the client killed Gruneman and might kill Bree next. Klute revisits Gruneman's acquaintances. By typographic comparison, the obscene letters are traced to Cable, to whom Klute has been reporting during his investigation. Klute asks Cable for money to buy the "black book" of McKenna's clients to learn the identity of the abusive client. He leaves enough bread crumbs to see whether Cable reveals his own complicity in the murders.
Cable follows Bree to a client's office and reveals that he sent her the letters. Cable tells her that after Gruneman accidentally found him physically abusing McKenna, Cable was worried that Gruneman would use the incident to sabotage Cable's career, so Cable tried to frame Gruneman by planting the letter in his office. After playing a snuff audiotape he recorded as he murdered Page, he attacks Bree. When he sees Klute rush in, Cable abruptly lurches backward, crashing through a window to his death.
Bree vacates her apartment with Klute's help. A voiceover conversation with her psychiatrist reveals her hesitancy to surrender her life of autonomy to enter into a traditional relationship with Klute, saying that she would lose her mind if she turned to a domestic lifestyle. She admits that although she will miss Klute, she is unable to tell him, and jokes that the doctor will likely see her again the next week. As they leave the apartment, Bree receives a telephone call from a client, and she informs him she is leaving New York and does not expect to return. She and Klute leave the apartment together.
In addition, future Emmy, Golden Globe and Academy Award winning /nominated actors Jean Stapleton (credited) and Sylvester Stallone (uncredited extra) appear in the film. [9]
Writer Karen Gai Dean notes paranoia and surveillance as principal themes in Klute. [7] She writes that the film's recurrent use of audio tapes as both "visual and aural themes ... presciently evoke the paranoia of the Watergate era." [7]
The film was retconned to form the first installment of Pakula's "paranoia trilogy", [10] followed by The Parallax View (1974) and All the President's Men (1976), which similarly dealt with themes of paranoia, conspiracies, and surveillance. [6] [7] Scott Tobias of The Guardian noted that while the film "doesn't have the conspiratorial flavor of Pakula's more political films, Klute approaches the genre with the same creepy ambience, with camera angles that suggest surveillance, and an excellent score, by Michael Small, that would seem more suited to horror, with its jangling of keys on the far end of a piano. There's an aura of danger and instability that keeps the film on edge." [10]
Andy Lewis, a writer who had primarily worked in television, developed the screenplay for Klute with the goal of wanting to transition into feature films. [11] His initial inspiration for the screenplay originated from a serial story he had read as a child in The Saturday Evening Post about a man from the country who ventures into the city in an attempt to solve the murder of his brother who was killed there in an empty lot. [11] Lewis focused on two themes he felt were resonant to Americans, firstly "the rube who turns the tables on the city slickers", and secondly, paranoia: "I'm sure this afflicts people all over the world, but I somehow think of it as typically American. The hidden pattern of things. The darkness. The people out there watching you, plotting against you, waiting to hurt you. Sounds you hear at night. Silences on the phone. All that stuff. I figured I would write this thing, however it went, to take the fullest possible advantage of this—what should we call it?—instinct. Deliberately." [11]
The spec script was completed by Andy Lewis in collaboration with his older brother, Dave. [11] The brothers corresponded by letters and phone—Andy from his Massachusetts residence, and Dave from his home in California—with Andy undertaking much of the scripting. [11] Andy commented that the writing was highly collaborative, concluding: "I'd have trouble attributing any part of the original script to one or the other of us solely." [11]
The casting of Jane Fonda, who had recently completed They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) was announced in April 1970. [12] At the time, Fonda had attracted significant scrutiny for her activism against the Vietnam War, [10] and much of the publicity surrounding the film made note of this. [13] To prepare for the role, Fonda spent a week in New York City observing high-class call girls and madams. She also accompanied them on their outings to after-hours clubs to solicit men. Fonda was disturbed that none of the men showed any interest in her, which she believed was because they could see that she was really just an "upper-class, privileged pretender". [14]
Fonda had doubts about whether she could portray the role and asked Alan Pakula to release her from her contract and hire Faye Dunaway instead, but Pakula refused. [15] One of Fonda's primary concerns was that she, as an emerging feminist, should not play a prostitute, but when Fonda admitted this concern to a longstanding feminist, she was told "If the script is good, and it's an opportunity to be three-dimensional, of course you should do it!" To overcome her doubts that she could play such a role, Fonda turned to her memories of several call girls whom she had known while living in France, all of whom worked for the famed Madame Claude. She remembered that all of them had been sexually abused as children, and Fonda used this as an "entry" to her own character and as a way to understand Bree's motivations in becoming a prostitute. [16]
Donald Sutherland was cast as private investigator, John Klute, signing onto the project in May 1970. [17] Sutherland later admitted that he clashed with Pakula during the production, commenting that it "was a film where the director had a specific idea, which I didn't particularly understand, nor was I particularly interested in." [13] Roy Scheider was cast as Bree's pimp, Frank Ligourin, a role that brought him significant attention and notably furthered his career. [18]
Principal photography of Klute began in December 1970 in New York City. [19] [20] In March 1971, it was reported that filming had completed. [21]
The film was shot by cinematographer Gordon Willis, a frequent collaborator of Pakula known for his employment of darkness and shadows in his cinematography. [6] Film scholar Terence McSweeney writes in The Other Hollywood Renaissance (2020) that the film's cinematography is deliberately destabilizing and disorienting, utilizing close-up shots while lacking establishing shots, and that its editing style features abrupt transitions and a lack of traditional film cues. [22] Actor Sutherland, reflecting on the film, commented that, "there were a lot of things in Klute that didn't make any sense in terms of movies." [23]
Klute was released theatrically in the United States by Warner Bros., premiering on June 23, 1971, in Los Angeles and New York City [1] before opening wide on June 25. [24]
The film earned US$8 million (equivalent to $60,187,346in 2023) in theatrical rentals at the North American box office. [25]
Klute was widely praised by critics for its screenplay and Fonda's performance, though some criticized Pakula's unconventional direction. [13] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 45 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Donald Sutherland is coolly commanding and Jane Fonda a force of nature in Klute, a cuttingly intelligent thriller that generates its most agonizing tension from its stars' repartee." [26] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". [27]
The Los Angeles Times 's Charles Champlin praised Fonda and Sutherland's performances, summarizing: "Klute is visually stunning, full of surprises, bewildering and suspenseful, faultless in its timing... Like the best mysteries always, Klute offers more than its diversions and redeems its sordid materials by understanding them and finding them worth pity, not amusement." [28]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded Klute 3.5 stars out of a possible 4, writing that while the thriller elements were poorly executed, the performances of Sutherland and especially Fonda carried the film. He suggested that the film should have been titled Bree after her character, who is the "soul" of the film and avoids the hooker with a heart of gold stereotype:
What is it about Jane Fonda that makes her such a fascinating actress to watch? She has a sort of nervous intensity that keeps her so firmly locked into a film character that the character actually seems distracted by things that come up in the movie. [29]
Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune was similarly appreciative, writing: "More interesting than the mystery is the character of Bree... the nicest part of her character (due to the script and Miss Fonda's fine performance) is that this prostitute doesn't have a heart of gold. She's a hungup little broad who, when cornered by violence or tenderness, will scratch and bite. Director Alan Pakula's... crisply edited movie runs too long only in drawing out its conclusion….Sharp eyes will solve the mystery midway thru the film. Miss Fonda's performance is superior to her most recent work in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?... Sutherland... presents a controlled posture as the industrious detective. His low profile nicely balances Miss Fonda's incendiary role." [30]
J. Luria, writing for the Professional Psychology: Research and Practice journal, praised the film for its psychological elements, particularly its nuanced depiction of prostitution, noting that "a good mystery plot and excellent acting make this film entertaining. But the sociopsychological scrutiny of the prostitution subculture makes it outstanding. The film unfolds on several levels, the description of the call girl, the struggle for her growth, the relationship of Klute and Bree, and the mystery theme. Overall, it is an excellent blending of the clinical and the literal." [31]
Roger Greenspun of The New York Times , in one of the few negative reviews, wrote, "Pakula, when he is not indulging in subjective camera, strives to give his film the look of structural geometry, but despite the sharp edges and dramatic spaces and cinema presence out of Citizen Kane it all suggests a tepid, rather tasteless mush. The acting in Klute seems semi-improvisatory, and in this Jane Fonda, who is good at confessing, is generally successful. Everybody else merely talks a lot, except for Sutherland, who scarcely talks at all. A normally inventive actor, he is here given precisely the latitude to evoke a romantic figure with all the mysterious intensity of a youthful Calvin Coolidge." [32]
Writing for the Chicago Reader in 1985, critic Dave Kehr declared the film "as close to a classic as anything New Hollywood produced." [33]
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released Klute on DVD first in February 2002. [40] The Criterion Collection released the film on Blu-ray in July 2019 featuring a new 4K restoration from the original film elements. [41]
Jane Seymour Fonda is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award and two Tony Awards. Fonda also received the Honorary Palme d'Or in 2007, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2014, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2021, and is set to receive the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2025.
Coming Home is a 1978 American romantic war drama film directed by Hal Ashby from a screenplay written by Waldo Salt and Robert C. Jones with story by Nancy Dowd. It stars Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, Bruce Dern, Penelope Milford, Robert Carradine and Robert Ginty. The film's narrative follows a perplexed woman, her Marine husband, and a paraplegic Vietnam War veteran with whom she develops a romantic relationship while her husband is deployed in Vietnam.
Donald McNichol Sutherland was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards as well as a BAFTA Award nomination. Considered one of the best actors never nominated for an Academy Award, he was given an Academy Honorary Award in 2017. Sutherland was a prominent anti-war activist during the Vietnam War era.
Roy Richard Scheider was an American actor. Described by AllMovie as "one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors", he gained fame for his leading and supporting roles in celebrated films from the 1970s through to the early to mid-1980s. He was nominated for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a BAFTA Award.
The Morning After is a 1986 American psychological thriller film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges, and Raul Julia. It follows a washed-up, alcoholic actress who awakens on Thanksgiving morning beside the dead body of a photographer in his loft, with no memory of the events from the night before. She attempts to uncover the truth of what occurred with the help of a former police officer she encounters while on the run.
Anne Archer is an American actress. Archer was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971, and in the year following, appeared in her feature film debut The Honkers (1972). She had supporting roles in Cancel My Reservation (1972), The All-American Boy (1973), and Trackdown (1976), and appeared in Good Guys Wear Black (1978), Paradise Alley (1978) and Hero at Large (1980).
Jaws 2 is a 1978 American horror thriller film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and co-written by Carl Gottlieb. It is the sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975), and the second installment in the Jaws franchise. The film stars Roy Scheider as Police Chief Martin Brody, with Lorraine Gary and Murray Hamilton reprising their respective roles as Martin's wife Ellen Brody and mayor Larry Vaughn. It also stars Joseph Mascolo, Jeffrey Kramer, Collin Wilcox, Ann Dusenberry, Mark Gruner, Susan French, Barry Coe, Donna Wilkes, Gary Springer, and Keith Gordon in his first feature film role. The plot concerns Chief Brody suspecting another great white shark is terrorizing the fictional seaside resort of Amity Island, following a series of incidents and disappearances, and his suspicions are eventually proven true.
Alan Jay Pakula was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Associated with the New Hollywood movement, his best-known works include his critically-acclaimed "paranoia trilogy": the neo-noir mystery Klute (1971), the conspiracy thriller The Parallax View (1974), and the Watergate scandal drama All the President's Men (1976). His other notable films included Comes a Horseman (1978), Starting Over (1979), Sophie's Choice (1982), Presumed Innocent (1990), and The Pelican Brief (1993).
Comes a Horseman is a 1978 American Western drama film starring Jane Fonda, James Caan, Jason Robards, and Richard Farnsworth, directed by Alan J. Pakula.
Transamerica is a 2005 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Duncan Tucker, and starring Felicity Huffman and Kevin Zegers. Released by IFC Films and The Weinstein Company, the film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 14, 2005, and to theaters in the United States on December 2, 2005.
All the President's Men is a 1976 American biographical political thriller film about the Watergate scandal that brought down the presidency of Richard Nixon. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, with a screenplay by William Goldman, it is based on the 1974 non-fiction book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the two journalists investigating the scandal for The Washington Post.
The 37th New York Film Critics Circle Awards honored the best filmmaking of 1971. The winners were announced on 29 December 1971 and the awards were given on 23 January 1972.
A Doll's House is a 1973 drama film directed by Joseph Losey, based on the 1879 play A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen. It stars Jane Fonda in the role of Nora Helmer and David Warner as her domineering husband, Torvald.
Terror in the Aisles is a 1984 American documentary film about horror films, including slasher films and crime thrillers. The film is directed by Andrew J. Kuehn, and hosted by Donald Pleasence and Nancy Allen. The original music score is composed by John Beal.
The Pyx, also known as The Hooker Cult Murders and La Lunule, is a 1973 Canadian horror film directed by Harvey Hart and starring Karen Black, Christopher Plummer, Donald Pilon, and Jean-Louis Roux. Based on John Buell's 1959 novel of the same name, it follows a Montreal police detective unraveling the mystery behind the death of a heroin-addicted prostitute who died under bizarre circumstances after falling from a building. Its title refers to the pyx, a small container used by the Roman Catholic Church to hold sacramental bread.
F.T.A. is a 1972 American documentary film starring Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland and directed by Francine Parker, which follows a 1971 anti-Vietnam War road show for G.I.s, the FTA Show, as it stops in Hawaii, The Philippines, Okinawa, and Japan. It includes highlights from the show, behind the scenes footage, local performers from the countries visited, and interviews and conversations with GIs "as they discuss what they saw in battle, their anger with the military bureaucracy, and their opposition to America's presence in Indochina." Called by Fonda "a spit and a prayer production" it was far from a big budget Hollywood movie, or even a well-funded documentary. While the movie "is raw," it "underscores how infectious the movement of the 60s and 70s was", and chronicles both the Tour itself as well as the soldiers who came to see it and "the local talent of organizers, labor unions and artist/activists" in the countries visited.
The 6th National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 24 December 1971, honored the best filmmaking of 1971.
The following is a complete filmography of Jane Fonda. An American actress, writer, activist, former fashion model and fitness guru, Fonda has won two Academy Awards, for Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978).
Vivian Nathan was an American actress and founding member of the Actors Studio, which opened in 1947. She served on the Actors Studio's board of directors until 1999. She appeared in the original Broadway debut productions of The Rose Tattoo (1951) and Camino Real (1953). Her film credits included Klute.