Marathon Man (1976)
By Michael Muniz
Despite their often pre-anointed reverence, many older films are not fine wines. In fact, most turn to vinegar over the course of only a few decades. So when I find one that still holds its own, even with the contemporary J.J. Abrams-inspired action thrillers of today, it’s definitely worth getting excited about. Marathon Man is one such film.
Dustin Hoffman stars as “Babe” Levy, a graduate student tortured by past demons revolving around his father’s suicide. Roy Scheider is “Doc,” Babe’s older brother and globetrotting government agent. Babe has no idea about his brother’s secret life, but when their worlds collide for the first time, it hurls him dead center into a madman’s plot to recover stolen diamonds.
Sir Laurence Olivier gives a masterful performance as sinister Nazi dentist Dr. Christian Szell, one of the all-time great baddies of cinema. His hell-bent quest to retrieve his diamonds by any means necessary is played with such intense algidity, a glacier would seem to have more heart. His infamous torture of Babe is timeless and still as difficult to watch as ever. It’s really a testament to how talented Olivier was: even twenty years after his death, I had trouble going to sleep for fear of waking to see him standing over me with that notorious drill in hand asking “Is it safe?”
Marathon Man is well-acted with a tonally homogenous screenplay penned by the legendary William Goldman, based on his novel of the same name. The film holds up remarkably well considering 33 years have passed since its theatrical release. The action sequences have a modern feel, particularly the fight in the hotel room between Doc and Chen (James Wing Woo). Olivier and Hoffman remain boldly convincing, particularly in their final confrontation in the pump room.
The problematic areas of the film are rooted in vague character development. Doc laments that he’s not the best at what he does anymore, but nothing alludes to that other than his hand getting mangled in the fight with Chen. Even James Bond walks away with bumps and scrapes on occasion, so Doc seemed pretty razor sharp to me. Also, Babe’s love interest, Elsa (Marthe Keller), ends up with secrets of her own, but her actions aren’t really justified by the film’s end. She disappears from the movie for a long time, and in the end we’re left wondering if she ever loved Babe at all. So what’s the motivation for her final redemption? While women are often complicated and confused in matters of the heart (no angry emails,please), Elsa was downright incomprehensible.
Overall, Olivier’s performance alone makes the movie worth watching, but John Schlesinger’s venerable direction is really the lynchpin. Besides channeling such well-crafted acting, he was able to make a smart and thrilling film that could stand on its own three decades later.
If you haven’t seen it yet…DO.
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This Marathon Man movie review is copyright 2009 Small World Marketing and Shane Rivers. This Marathon Man review should not be reprinted without the permission of the copyright holders.
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