Of all things, Getaway is a very uneven effort by Sam Peckinpah that doesn't live up to its famous predecessors, The Wild Bunch (1969) and Straw Dogs (1971). With both, it shares the director's known liking for graphic violence (preferably using slow-motion gun shots) and queasy moral standards (that affect women and men alike), but too many flaws get in its way to make it a truly great thriller. The film opens with a very promising atmospheric prelude showing Doc McCoy (Steve McQueen) grappling with the hardship of prison life. When his request for parole is rejected by the Prison Board, he summons his wife Carol (Ali MacGraw) to barter an agreement with corrupt sheriff Jack Beynon (Ben Johnson) to get him released. The price to pay, or so it seems, is a bank robbery McCoy must carry out for Beynon's benefit. When McCoy learns that he will have to "work" with two of Beynon's men, his natural instinct tells him that he and his partner are in for trouble. Sure enough, things turn sour and McCoy is a man on the run. The main plot line is about deceit and suspicion. McCoy's near pathological mistrust in anyone crossing his way repeatedly saves his life but almost ruins it too, as it threatens to terminate his relationship with Carol as well. The film is served well by Peckinpah's utter lack of moralising impetus; the only things that make people tick in this movie are money and distrust (and, occasionally, sex; though that is more of an occupational gadget), and life is fundamentally a struggle against your next neighbour. Tellingly, redemption (a safe and proper life) lies beyond the border, in a fantasmagoric other territory, in this case Mexico, which in itself reeks of sarcasm. Though the main story has great moments in store, and the filming is spotless, the entire venture is at times obstructed by the overly caricatural subplot relating Rudy Butler's (Al Lettieri) chase of his one-day accomplice Doc. Aside from Quincy Jones' partly obnoxious soundtrack (and notwithstanding the eternal Toots Thieleman's harmonica spleen), another major defection in conjuring up the main protagonists' inner turmoil the only "ethical" point, if you will and give this film substance is MacGraw's sub-zero acting performance throughout. If she isn't a miscast, who is? And though McQueen turns in a standard no-kidding act, and most side acts certainly deserve a mention, nothing will do to bring life into the love plot. This in turn prevents the film from becoming a true 1970s Bonnie and Clyde journey, which would certainly have given it the edge it lacks. It is therefore no wonder that Getaway, unlike your classic crime romance, ends with a happy end be it a rather cold one, fitting in with the overall sentiment that pervades the film. But since it's a Peckinpah after all, you won't regret spending your money on it.
Review of The Getaway
