MARATHON MAN (1976)
Updated: Dec 10, 2022
Dustin Hoffman Runs For His Life and Revenge in this Shocking Thriller
Grade: A+
(**Spoiler Alert!!**)
Marathon Man is an unrelenting nightmare of international intrigue, mystery, betrayal and revenge. It establishes suspense in its opening moments and builds all the way to the shocking climax. Along the way, it weaves together many disparate story threads, including some that might be considered minor. Even though some parts of it may seem predictable, the sheer tension of the movie, as well as the expert way it plays with audiences emotions, more than make up for it.
The first half introduces several intriguing plot points that leave the audience guessing as to what they are about and how they are connected. We have a grad student named Thomas Babbington "Babe" Levy (Dustin Hoffman) trying to run a marathon and starting a relationship with another student (Marthe Keller). It is revealed that Babe's father (Allen Joseph) was an innocent victim of the McCarthy era when Babe was a boy. There are also two senior citizens-one Jewish, one German-who yell hateful slurs at each other while driving until they are killed after crashing into an oil truck. There is a man who seems to be an agent of some sort (Roy Scheider) surviving several assassination attempts in Paris. And there is a former Nazi (Laurence Olivier) living in Latin America who shaves his head before flying to the States.
About forty-five minutes into the movie, the subplots start to converge. It turns out Babe and Roy Scheider's character "Doc" are brothers, and Doc is making some sort of arrangement with the Nazi, Szell. The movie's tension is increased tenfold when Szell stabs Doc in the stomach. Doc's visibly blood-drained face and Babe's horrified reaction when his brother staggers into his apartment that night create a sense of real terror. It isn't long before Szell and his associates start targeting a confused and grief-stricken Babe and probing him with an obscure question, "Is it safe?" Before the ordeal is over, Babe will have put all his hours of running to good use, be betrayed by people he thinks he can trust, and suffer terrible oral pain at the hands of Szell.
The screenplay is a major asset to the movie's success, written by Oscar-winner William Goldman of Butch Cassidy (1969) and The Princess Bride (1987) fame. He clearly knows that the best way to hook an audience in a movie like this is to keep the suspense high while explaining as little as possible in the first half; otherwise, we wouldn't be nearly as interested. He and director John Schlesinger do a great job establishing the characters and making audiences care about them. They also craft multiple incidents and set pieces that range from thrilling (i.e. an extended chase where Babe jumps from one elevated ramp to another) to horrifying (His dental torture by Szell). One part that might seem predictable at first occurs when Babe sets out to find Szell in the climax; audiences might think he will show up and shoot him. But Goldman flips this on his head by having Babe wreak a more psychologically painful revenge upon his nemesis.
Another interesting thing is how very few plot points are wasted. Central Park is the setting for a couple of crucial scenes early on, and it is revisited during the climax. A gang who mocks Babe from across the street in the opening moments later helps him out. While some parts of the screenplay require more scrutiny than others (this reviewer is still a little confused about the exact nature of the relationship between Doc and Szell), it is still a well-crafted story.
The cinematography, score, and performances also contribute to the movie's quality. The music successfully creates anxiety from the opening moments and continues even when something seemingly innocuous is going on; when Babe and his sweetheart Elsa are building their relationship, there is suspense mixed into the romance in the music. The environments are well-photographed; when Babe is running through the city at night, he is silhouetted by street lights and surrounded by smoke. When Elsa's country home is visited, the cinematography looks like something of a polaroid, like a childhood memory.
Hoffman and Olivier are the biggest standouts in the cast. As Babe, Hoffman runs the gamut from horror and grief in his brother's death to hate and revenge when he sets out to kill Szell. Olivier's range from cool and professional to anxious and desperate. This latter emotion is especially effective during the shocking climax in a Central Park water treatment facility, where a deranged Babe threatens to dump Szell's suitcase full of precious diamonds. You know an actor is doing something right when he almost gets you to feel sorry for the evil Nazi war criminal.
Marathon Man is an outstanding example of a thriller done right. It gets under the skin and never lets up with its mystery, suspense and acts of evil. This film should be reference point for modern filmmakers who want to keep audiences on the edge of their seats, because few do it quite like Marathon Man.
Director: John Schlesinger
Screenplay: William Goldman (Based on his novel)
Producers: Robert Evans, Sidney Beckerman
Cast: Dustin Hoffman (Babe), Laurence Olivier (Szell), Roy Scheider (Doc), William Devane (Janeway), Marthe Keller (Elsa), Fritz Weaver (Prof. Biesenthal), Richard Bright (Karl), Marc Lawrence (Erhardt), Allen Joseph (Babe's Father)
Rated: R
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