This expertly written story of a rebel playing by his own rules, no matter what anyone else says, was a lot different than what I had expected but definitely worthy of the classic status it has come to receive in the forty years since it's release. The story is timeless, incredibly powerful and ultimately uplifting and the cast does a great job at putting it all together. Most impressive, of course, is Paul Newman who gives a very likable, well-rounded performance that exceeded my high expectations that I had built up. I'm kind of surprised that it wasn't nominated for Best Picture.
The most interesting aspect of the film for me was the metaphor for the life of Christ that was displayed throughout. At the beginning of the film we see Luke engage in a boxing match where he is badly beaten, but he refuses to lay down and give up. As a result of this, his fellow prisoners in the camp become his followers. They praise him and look towards him as a leader for the rest of the film. He leads them up against the guards; not in an act of rebellion in order to overthrow the camp, but rebellion just for the sake of rebellion. Luke doesn't ever ask to become the leader of this group or to be anything more than himself. He just does things in order to pass the time, in order to entertain himself, and as a result everyone else in the camp projects these Christ-like qualities upon him. The film itself makes direct references to him being a religious symbol; his camp number 37, is a reference to the bible and after the scene where he eats fifty eggs he lays on the table in the form of a crucifix. Most interesting for me, though, was the story of his resurrection. After his second botched escape attempt, he comes back and the guards begin to beat him over and over again. They torture him for no reason other than to break him and when they finally do, they push him down into his grave, literally. But then the warden, as god, lifts him back up out of the grave and puts him back into the camp. His fellow prisoners think he is broken and that he has abandoned them, but instead he rises back up and escapes once again. I'm not a religious man by any means, but the metaphor for Luke as Christ throughout was something that I found very intriguing.
The ending itself was great. Luke was finally killed but the impact of his life lived on through Dragline. The most powerful moment of the film for me was when he rose up and attacked the man with no eyes, who had served as this haunting figure looming over the prisoners for the entire film. Seeing those ominous get crushed under the tire was such a powerful anti-establishment statement. The final montage of Newman's beautiful smile could have come across as overly sentimental, but instead further served the uplifting message that the film carries all the way through. A great story highlighted by a sensational performance.
The most interesting aspect of the film for me was the metaphor for the life of Christ that was displayed throughout. At the beginning of the film we see Luke engage in a boxing match where he is badly beaten, but he refuses to lay down and give up. As a result of this, his fellow prisoners in the camp become his followers. They praise him and look towards him as a leader for the rest of the film. He leads them up against the guards; not in an act of rebellion in order to overthrow the camp, but rebellion just for the sake of rebellion. Luke doesn't ever ask to become the leader of this group or to be anything more than himself. He just does things in order to pass the time, in order to entertain himself, and as a result everyone else in the camp projects these Christ-like qualities upon him. The film itself makes direct references to him being a religious symbol; his camp number 37, is a reference to the bible and after the scene where he eats fifty eggs he lays on the table in the form of a crucifix. Most interesting for me, though, was the story of his resurrection. After his second botched escape attempt, he comes back and the guards begin to beat him over and over again. They torture him for no reason other than to break him and when they finally do, they push him down into his grave, literally. But then the warden, as god, lifts him back up out of the grave and puts him back into the camp. His fellow prisoners think he is broken and that he has abandoned them, but instead he rises back up and escapes once again. I'm not a religious man by any means, but the metaphor for Luke as Christ throughout was something that I found very intriguing.
The ending itself was great. Luke was finally killed but the impact of his life lived on through Dragline. The most powerful moment of the film for me was when he rose up and attacked the man with no eyes, who had served as this haunting figure looming over the prisoners for the entire film. Seeing those ominous get crushed under the tire was such a powerful anti-establishment statement. The final montage of Newman's beautiful smile could have come across as overly sentimental, but instead further served the uplifting message that the film carries all the way through. A great story highlighted by a sensational performance.