Midnight Cowboy

John Schlesinger established himself as an English arthouse darling with films like Billy Liar (1963) and Far from the Madding Crowd (1967). His breakthrough Hollywood film is Midnight Cowboy (1969). Best remembered as the only X-rated movie to win Best Picture, it plays very well, though its striking direction almost overwhelms the story.

Joe Buck (Jon Voight) flees his small Western town with dreams of scoring in New York City. Hoping to become the "kept man" of a rich benefactor, he finds scoring with NYC chicks isn't so easy as he thoughts. Eccentric loser Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman) decides to manage Joe, setting him up as a stud, though many of Joe's clientele are gay. Joe soon tires of the city, and when Ratso becomes ill decides to head for Florida.

Midnight Cowboy is a bleak reworking of Breakfast at Tiffany's, replacing the cutesy humor with grittiness and cruel irony. Joe finds New York City a grimy, rundown rathole, a hopeless dream-crushing metropolis. Even sex is a tricky proposition: Joe's first client is a prostitute (Sylvia Miles) who bilks him. The awkward, ambiguous relationship between Joe and Ratso becomes the film's dramatic pillar, two outcasts who forge an unlikely bond. Their scenes together bonding in a rundown apartment provide the movie's strongest moments.

Schlesinger and writer Waldo Salt dissect the cult of American masculinity. Joe sets himself up as a super-stud in his cowboy duds, but finds homosexuals his primary clientele. Defining himself by sexuality, Joe's self-image grows muddled by a series of bizarre, farcical encounters. A gradually-revealed past and a dream-like, drug-induced party further undermine his image. He's only able to perform when one of his clients (Brenda Vaccaro) accuses him of being gay!

Cowboy's strongest suit is Schlesinger's direction. He experimented with fantasy scenes in Billy Liar but those are tame compared to Cowboy's warped phantasmagoria. The film borders on surreal at times, a traumatic collision of Joe's childhood memories, victimization by a mob and fantasies of the high life. Hugh A. Robertson's chaotic editing, juxtaposing sex with media and religious imagery, is blunt but effective. John Barry's score projects the perfect mixture of alienation and seedy Americana.

Jon Voight gives an excellent turn, refining his caricatural image into a vivid performance. Dustin Hoffman's Ratso is an interesting character but his performance veers towards schtick; his limp, accent and hacking cough are too obviously put-ons. Brenda Vaccaro and Sylvia Miles make an impression as the women who take advantage of Joe. Ruth White (The Nun's Story) is frighteningly effective in her brief scenes. Bob Balaban (Gosford Park) appears briefly as one of Joe's customers.

Midnight Cowboy is a compelling watch. From its striking visuals to the protagonists' warm relationship, it holds up as a bona fide classic.