*
FILMS: dance of life, dance of death
★★
By RICHARD GEARY
Assistant Auto & Revision K
Assistant Arts & Reviews Editor "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" is an attractive title, and the movie itself is very attractive. It is about a dance marathon in the nineteen thirties, a human circus where the performers compete for cash—in this case fifteen hundred dollars to momentarily alleviate the depression.
The action takes place entirely in the old Aragon Ballroom in Los Angeles. There, a grand procession of human misery is paraded before us, headed by the five main characters whose lives we follow during the course of the film: a rock-hard, emotionless young woman (Jane Fonda), an innocent, tosse-haired country boy (Michael Sarazin); a young British actress hoping to catch the eye of a Hollywood producer (Susanna York); and an aging sailor, the veteran of dozens of such marathons (Red Buttons). The spectacle is presided over by Gig Young as a fast-talking, world-heavy promoter, whose hollow "Yowsa, yowsa" perfectly sets the tone for the proceedings.
To director Sidney Pollack must go the credit for the film's awesomely compelling quality; no American movie has ever been so physically manipulative of its audience. With just one set to work with, Pollack choreographs the drama remarkably well, sparing no effect to make us feel the punishment that the characters are taking. The story is put together like a piece of music, the quickening and slackening of pace, the raising and lowering of dramatic tension expertly timed.
Each performance, too, is magnetic and powerful, especially those of Jane Fonda and Gig Young, as two very similar people, clawing to maintain a shred of human dignity in a brutal, chaotic world—of which the dance floor is a microcosm. Minor characters, such as Bruce Dern and Bonnie Bedeila as a southern redneck and his pregnant wife, and the dozens of nameless faces in the crowd provide superb vignettes and atmospheric details.
But one cannot ignore the many irritations the picture gives, most of which can be attributed also to the director. The production is sometimes much too clever for its own good. Pollack takes evident pleasure in pummeling us with one emotional shock after another, and in serving up such a luscious platter of thirties physical detail. The costumes, the hairstyles, the advertisements along the rim of the dance floor are recreated with obvious care and relish—and they all shout, "Pay attention to me!" into the viewer's ear. There are many attempts at European artiness with clumsy flashbacks to the hero's boyhood on the farm, and a string of totally useless flash-forwards to the conclusion of the story. A mistake also is the final scene: aside from the strain it puts on the credibility of Miss Fonda's character (until then she never appears suicidal), it is wrong because it takes place outside the ballroom. After two hours of numbing claustrophobia, the
Apr. 15
1970 KANSAN 5
scene seems tacked-on and the characters look out-of-place (An earlier moment, when Sarazin opens a door and looks at the sea, uses the outdoors more effectively; we can almost feel the fresh air rushing in).
Objections like these pale in the face of the intense human conflict at the heart of the film.
The participants struggle not against one another but against the absurd meaninglessness of their surroundings. "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" is not a happy movie; there is little laughter and no soothing sentiment; nothing to offset the gloom but the sharp-edged wit of the dialogue.
"Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice"
What's wrong with that?
HELD OVER . . . MOVED OVER
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THE SOUND
KIEF'S
BELL MUSIC
RICHARDSON MUSIC CO.
KU Concert Course
presents
BALLET WEST
Company of 50
HOCH AUDITORIUM Thursday, April 16, at 8:20 p.m. Main Floor $3.50 - 1st Bal. $3.00 - 2nd Bal. $2.50 Tickets at Murphy Boxoffice (KU Students Admitted Free with I.D.'s)