183 reviews
Fine gritty dramatic mystery that gets the pulse of NYC in the early 70's just right. It becomes another character in the film which only strengths the picture and adds a certain creeping menace to it. While the movie pivots on the disappearance of a man it's really a character study of alienation with the investigation a peg to hang the main action on.
Sutherland is fine as the inquiring detective John Klute but the film lives and dies on the character of Bree Daniels and Jane Fonda owns that part.
Bree wants the world to believe she's one tough hard customer but as the film progresses it becomes more and more obvious that the bravado is a front. She displays raw, honest emotion in all her scenes but particularly in her therapy sequences. She shows so many layers to the character, including flashes of humor that Bree comes across as a real woman.
Usually I try not to let appearance factor into my appraisal of a performance however that shag hairstyle is integral to the audience's acceptance of her as a tough call girl. Having moved forward and away from her initial image of the blonde cutie with her previous film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, she completely transforms herself in this. The soft blonde Jane Fonda of Barefoot in the Park or Barbarella of only a couple of years before would never be believable as Bree Daniels. The film was a major hit and she won her first Oscar for it. She was up against some excellent performances that year but she was the correct winner.
Expertly directed by Pakula in his usual observant style this is a classic of '70's cinema. Highly recommended.
Sutherland is fine as the inquiring detective John Klute but the film lives and dies on the character of Bree Daniels and Jane Fonda owns that part.
Bree wants the world to believe she's one tough hard customer but as the film progresses it becomes more and more obvious that the bravado is a front. She displays raw, honest emotion in all her scenes but particularly in her therapy sequences. She shows so many layers to the character, including flashes of humor that Bree comes across as a real woman.
Usually I try not to let appearance factor into my appraisal of a performance however that shag hairstyle is integral to the audience's acceptance of her as a tough call girl. Having moved forward and away from her initial image of the blonde cutie with her previous film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, she completely transforms herself in this. The soft blonde Jane Fonda of Barefoot in the Park or Barbarella of only a couple of years before would never be believable as Bree Daniels. The film was a major hit and she won her first Oscar for it. She was up against some excellent performances that year but she was the correct winner.
Expertly directed by Pakula in his usual observant style this is a classic of '70's cinema. Highly recommended.
"Klute" was a mixture of lone cop and private eye: a police officer who was hired privately to investigate somebody's disappearance
The trail led him deep into the world of New York call-girls, pimps and drug addicts
It was all shown, the vice, the degradation, but with intelligent compassion and honest humanity instead of the leer that so often sits on the face of the Seventies
Although barely more talkative than "Dirty Harry," "Klute" emerged as a whole human being rather than as a robot programmed to shoot and hit And as a high class hooker Bree Daniel, Jane Fonda achieved a characterization that has never been surpassed in all the abundant literature of tarts with hearts
"Klute" was a modern, as honest and unflinching as any fanatic for realism could ask; yet it was never curious about sexuality, never needlessly violent, never brutal And for complete, entertaining suspense, it was up there with the great ones: an enormous tribute to the producer-director Alan J. Pakula
Although barely more talkative than "Dirty Harry," "Klute" emerged as a whole human being rather than as a robot programmed to shoot and hit And as a high class hooker Bree Daniel, Jane Fonda achieved a characterization that has never been surpassed in all the abundant literature of tarts with hearts
"Klute" was a modern, as honest and unflinching as any fanatic for realism could ask; yet it was never curious about sexuality, never needlessly violent, never brutal And for complete, entertaining suspense, it was up there with the great ones: an enormous tribute to the producer-director Alan J. Pakula
- Nazi_Fighter_David
- Apr 20, 2008
- Permalink
I agree with the commentator(s) who say the title of this film should be 'Bree' instead of 'Klute.' No offense to Donald Sutherland who is undoubtedly effective in his role, but it is Jane Fonda's wonderfully nuanced performance that really carries this film. What an incredible range this actress has and what an impressive résumé she has put together throughout her career! I can't wait to see her in Monster In Law. Jane Fonda definitely deserved the Oscar she got for this role. Her portrayal of Bree Daniels, a tragic heroine wracked by inner contradictions is one of cinema's most haunting characters not only in the context of the story but as the embodiment of the immediate post sexual revolution as well. Highly recommended!
- perfectbond
- Dec 15, 2004
- Permalink
Despite the rough-edges reputation of Pakula, he always manages to give us some beautifully shot, almost fragile images. Like Fonda pondering an envelope full of money and a blank invoice while surrounded by clothing-store dummies; or Sutherland choosing apricots by feel; or even Roy Scheider's silent acknowledgement that he is being used. And Fonda's artless performance is so unbelieveable, I couldn't believe it was her.
Terrifically acted - everyone takes just the right tone. My only quibble about the movie is how the mystery is solved. It's much too abrupt given the meandering pace of the rest of the movie. But the plot means nothing in this surprisingly delicate character study.
Terrifically acted - everyone takes just the right tone. My only quibble about the movie is how the mystery is solved. It's much too abrupt given the meandering pace of the rest of the movie. But the plot means nothing in this surprisingly delicate character study.
"Klute" appealed to me as a crime thriller (and with Alan Pakula's name attached, you know it's going to be good), and I'll freely admit that it took me a while into the movie's running time to realize that's not what the movie's really about. First off, Jane Fonda owns this movie (Sutherland, despite top billing and a title named for his character is the supporting player). It's really about her call girl character's feeling trapped in a world for which she has no love; the self-loathing and uncertainty, her very mental state are what make this an interesting character. And calling it a memorable performance is putting it lightly. In a movie that deserves attention for its lighting, atmosphere and twisty narrative, you can't get her out of your head.
7/10
7/10
In Pennsylvania, when his old friend, the laboratory engineer Tom Gruneman (Robert Mili), vanishes, detective John Klute (Donald Sutherland) is hired by Tom's colleague Peter Cable (Charles Cioffi) to search for him. The unique lead is an obscene letter written by Tom to a call-girl in New York called Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda), and Klute moves to the Apple city to investigate the disappearance of Tom. Klute blackmails Bree to help him to find other prostitutes that might have been with Tom using some tapes of her phone calls that he had secretly recorded. They realize that some is stalking Bree, while Klute falls in love for Dress, and she has some sort of feeling that she can not understand for him.
In 1971, Jane Fonda was a muse worshiped by many teenagers like me, and I was particularly following her work through the sexy and cult sci-fi "Barbarella" and "They Shoot Horses, Don't They", an excellent adaptation of Horace McCoy's novel of the same name that had impressed me a lot. "Klute" was considered erotic in those times and the scene where Dree fakes an orgasm while looking at her watch was a sensation. Later I saw this movie many times on VHS, and now I have just bought the DVD.
"Klute" is really a classic film-noir, one of my favorite movies ever, with an engaging story with thriller, crime and romance, magnificent direction and stunning performances of Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland in the role of very believable characters. Jane Fonda deserved the Oscar perfectly playing a very complex character, strong and insensitive with her clients, fragile and confused with love. It is amazing how this movie has not aged and how much I like it every time I see it. My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil): "Klute, O Passado Condena" ("Klute, the Past Condemns")
In 1971, Jane Fonda was a muse worshiped by many teenagers like me, and I was particularly following her work through the sexy and cult sci-fi "Barbarella" and "They Shoot Horses, Don't They", an excellent adaptation of Horace McCoy's novel of the same name that had impressed me a lot. "Klute" was considered erotic in those times and the scene where Dree fakes an orgasm while looking at her watch was a sensation. Later I saw this movie many times on VHS, and now I have just bought the DVD.
"Klute" is really a classic film-noir, one of my favorite movies ever, with an engaging story with thriller, crime and romance, magnificent direction and stunning performances of Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland in the role of very believable characters. Jane Fonda deserved the Oscar perfectly playing a very complex character, strong and insensitive with her clients, fragile and confused with love. It is amazing how this movie has not aged and how much I like it every time I see it. My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil): "Klute, O Passado Condena" ("Klute, the Past Condemns")
- claudio_carvalho
- Oct 5, 2005
- Permalink
This is without a doubt the most intensely atmospheric film I've ever seen, and certainly the best, tied perhaps only with Chinatown. Pakula's eye shows us the true grit and grime of the city that never sleeps. Klute was packaged as a suspense thriller, but it is so much more than that. It is also a character study (either of Bree herself, or the city itself). It is a love story. It is a study of urban stereotypes. And did I mention the music? The eerie scrapes, nervous marimba and fearsome humming will really creep you out, but the warm trumpets and delicate strings on the flipside are warm and enveloping. Anyway, back to the film. The slow scenes are equally crucial as the action scenes; the gorgeous sequence of Bree and John Klute shopping for oranges in the city market at night is a powerful statement that love can exist between opposites. Fonda's brilliantly improvised therapy scenes are explosive as they are heartrending. No actress, living or dead, can touch her. As the beautiful and confused Bree she is both vulnerable and in charge. The unraveling of her psyche is fascinating to watch, as is John Klute's repulsion and fascination with "the city folk". The final confrontation will disturb and haunt you for days. Bottom line, essential. No film will take you into its world quite like this one. They just don't make 'em like this anymore.
- chinasyndrome
- Dec 29, 2003
- Permalink
In the late 1960s and into the 70s, a lot of Hollywood films tried very hard to upend the old notions of movies. Instead of the nice old Production Code, the late 60s brought in all sorts of deliberately unsavory things--things meant to challenge traditional morality. Think about it...films like "Bonnie & Clyde" and "The Wild Bunch" brought violence to a whole new level. Additionally, films like "Sex and the Single Girl", "Midnight Cowboy" and this movie, "Klute" brought sex out of the closet and right into the audience's faces. Because of this, back in 1971 this film really had a big impact and brought Jane Fonda an Oscar for playing a prostitute. But is it good? I would say yes...but certainly not great. While Fonda's performance is very good, the story itself seems almost like an episode of "Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit". It was novel then but today it doesn't seem quite to groundbreaking. Overall, I'd score this one an 8 back in '71 and a 6 today.
- planktonrules
- Mar 6, 2015
- Permalink
We grab from the top drawer for our descriptive words nowadays. We call a really good movie "awesome," leaving ourselves at a loss when a movie truly does inspire awe, such is the case with Jane Fonda's performance as Bree Daniels in Klute. And not for the same reasons as we're normally "awed" by performances. She doesn't have big, tearful breakdown scenes or fiery cross-examinations on a witness stand. She simply interacts, tries to figure out her own feelings and lack thereof, and experiences them. She makes all the right choices, from the workings of her walk and her vocal nuances to the infiltration of the girl's rampant mind. It's an uncommonly exceptional performance. She has a kind of anxious concentration that keeps her so resolutely in sync with a film character that the character truly seems preoccupied by things that happen in the story. You effectively get the sense that Bree had other things on her mind and was just about to pursue them when whatever it is arose.
Klute is one of the paramount films in which director of photography Gordon Willis, more than any other cinematographer, circumscribed the cinematic look of the 1970s: sophisticated compositions in which gulps of light and black put the decade's vague philosophy into harsh release. He imbues Klute with shadow and underexposed long takes with a delicacy and expression rarely before seen on color film stock. He has an unaffected sense of unconventional but formal configuration and dark beauty, using a shadowy painterliness to characterize not only the look but the precise meaning and atmosphere of a film.
Nevertheless, more than just a neo-noir or detective thriller, this initial installment of what would unofficially come to be termed as quite incredible and quite overlooked director Alan J. Pakula's paranoia trilogy is about a practiced, clever, cynical and self-contained New York call girl without a heart of gold. She never feels anything when she's with a john, yet she does undergo a sensation of satisfaction with her skill when she pleases them. And some of them have very complex desires, which test her character's own inspired acting capability. One old garment industry magnate, for instance, romanticizes an optimistic bygone Europe life, and Bree depicts it to him in calm, tender descriptions while she undresses. He in no way touches her.
Bree is at the heart of a movie whose title character is a cop who's come to New York, ad hoc, to resolve a missing persons case. It seems that the missing man may still be alive, and the cause of obscene notes and phone calls Bree has been getting. Bree at first rebuffs Klute, though she ultimately does talk to him, mainly because she's scared by late-night stalkers and wants his safety. This, rather than the thriller aspects of the plot, is more or less where the film's theme becomes paranoia. It's a romantic relationship based on it. Paranoid thinking tends to incorporate oneself. Distinctive from dogma or stupidity. And it's fascinating to watch two actors, one of whom having only four or five lines in the entire film, develop their largely intuitive rapport on a basis of Bree's feelings of a seeming menace towards her, and what we can only sense is a gradual building of trust in her from a point of associating suspicion with his being alien to her lifestyle.
But how do you build a relationship between a neurotic prostitute and an upright milquetoast cop? This genuinely psychological dramatic thriller does it by making the cop, in one of Donald Sutherland's strongest performances, into a person of moderation and formality, a man sincerely worried about this girl he's encountered. Sutherland's manner is a large part of what makes their relationship so engrossing. Customarily, in the movies, it's simply implicit the lovers were drawn toward one another because the script has a vague understanding of reductive audience demographics.
The scenes between Fonda and Sutherland are extremely accomplished, then, and Bree is further expounded on in scenes showing her trying to escape the vocation and into something respectable. She takes acting lessons, she auditions to model for cosmetics ads. She speaks with her shrink in scenes that literally, truly, absolutely, feel like documentary and put on permanent display Fonda's irrefutable brilliance. That's why the story, otherwise done many times in less interesting ways, works with such freshness and realism. In Klute, you don't have two pretty acting voids narrating stock phrases and running from henchmen. With Fonda and Sutherland, you have actors who comprehend and relate to their characters, and you wish all filmmakers felt their material entitled to this degree of dramatic ingenuity.
Klute is one of the paramount films in which director of photography Gordon Willis, more than any other cinematographer, circumscribed the cinematic look of the 1970s: sophisticated compositions in which gulps of light and black put the decade's vague philosophy into harsh release. He imbues Klute with shadow and underexposed long takes with a delicacy and expression rarely before seen on color film stock. He has an unaffected sense of unconventional but formal configuration and dark beauty, using a shadowy painterliness to characterize not only the look but the precise meaning and atmosphere of a film.
Nevertheless, more than just a neo-noir or detective thriller, this initial installment of what would unofficially come to be termed as quite incredible and quite overlooked director Alan J. Pakula's paranoia trilogy is about a practiced, clever, cynical and self-contained New York call girl without a heart of gold. She never feels anything when she's with a john, yet she does undergo a sensation of satisfaction with her skill when she pleases them. And some of them have very complex desires, which test her character's own inspired acting capability. One old garment industry magnate, for instance, romanticizes an optimistic bygone Europe life, and Bree depicts it to him in calm, tender descriptions while she undresses. He in no way touches her.
Bree is at the heart of a movie whose title character is a cop who's come to New York, ad hoc, to resolve a missing persons case. It seems that the missing man may still be alive, and the cause of obscene notes and phone calls Bree has been getting. Bree at first rebuffs Klute, though she ultimately does talk to him, mainly because she's scared by late-night stalkers and wants his safety. This, rather than the thriller aspects of the plot, is more or less where the film's theme becomes paranoia. It's a romantic relationship based on it. Paranoid thinking tends to incorporate oneself. Distinctive from dogma or stupidity. And it's fascinating to watch two actors, one of whom having only four or five lines in the entire film, develop their largely intuitive rapport on a basis of Bree's feelings of a seeming menace towards her, and what we can only sense is a gradual building of trust in her from a point of associating suspicion with his being alien to her lifestyle.
But how do you build a relationship between a neurotic prostitute and an upright milquetoast cop? This genuinely psychological dramatic thriller does it by making the cop, in one of Donald Sutherland's strongest performances, into a person of moderation and formality, a man sincerely worried about this girl he's encountered. Sutherland's manner is a large part of what makes their relationship so engrossing. Customarily, in the movies, it's simply implicit the lovers were drawn toward one another because the script has a vague understanding of reductive audience demographics.
The scenes between Fonda and Sutherland are extremely accomplished, then, and Bree is further expounded on in scenes showing her trying to escape the vocation and into something respectable. She takes acting lessons, she auditions to model for cosmetics ads. She speaks with her shrink in scenes that literally, truly, absolutely, feel like documentary and put on permanent display Fonda's irrefutable brilliance. That's why the story, otherwise done many times in less interesting ways, works with such freshness and realism. In Klute, you don't have two pretty acting voids narrating stock phrases and running from henchmen. With Fonda and Sutherland, you have actors who comprehend and relate to their characters, and you wish all filmmakers felt their material entitled to this degree of dramatic ingenuity.
- Leofwine_draca
- Jul 25, 2021
- Permalink
I can't believe that only one user has had a comment on this film after almost 34 years. I remember seeing this film as a undergraduate in 1971. As far as anything goes in 1971, this was as erotic as a film got in that year without garnering an "X" rating. God, life was simpler then. I just watched this film for the first time since 1971 (34 years ago) and every ounce of suspense was still there. Donald Southerland was new to film then and had not yet earned his reputation as the consummate character actor. Jane Fonda had not yet earned the epithet of "Hanoi Jane". And Jean Stapleton was not yet known as "Edit". Although this film seems a little dated as far as acting styles go. The "creep" factor is still there. Anyone who has viewed a few episodes of "Law and Order" will see the obvious villain in the first 30 minutes of this film but will also appreciate the strenuous character development that is evident in the film. Although it is obvious fairly early on who the bad guy is, it's interesting to see the expository effort that is expended in order to flesh out the characters. I am so glad that most of the actors involved in this endeavor went on to greater glory. I thank DARPA for the internet for my ability to inflict my opinions on more than a "small circle of friends".
- garyandsuepq
- Apr 27, 2005
- Permalink
Klute is a pretty darn good early 70's New York Noir ... with just one problem.
Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda) is a struggling actress living in New York City who works as a call girl to get by.
John Klute (Donald Sutherland) is a small-town detective hired to find a missing PA businessman who had once booked Bree for a date. He tracks her down and uses her contacts to help solve the mystery of the missing businessman.
The problem is that about halfway through the film the bad guy is revealed, and it stops being a mystery. I guess then it is more of a suspenseful drama.
It's all very well done, it just wasn't what I expected.
I really enjoyed seeing the gritty and bleak NYC circa 1970/71. The fashions, hairstyles, and décor were fabulous. And I was pleasantly surprised to see Jean Stapleton (Edith from All in The Family) in a small part as a secretary. Recommended!
Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda) is a struggling actress living in New York City who works as a call girl to get by.
John Klute (Donald Sutherland) is a small-town detective hired to find a missing PA businessman who had once booked Bree for a date. He tracks her down and uses her contacts to help solve the mystery of the missing businessman.
The problem is that about halfway through the film the bad guy is revealed, and it stops being a mystery. I guess then it is more of a suspenseful drama.
It's all very well done, it just wasn't what I expected.
I really enjoyed seeing the gritty and bleak NYC circa 1970/71. The fashions, hairstyles, and décor were fabulous. And I was pleasantly surprised to see Jean Stapleton (Edith from All in The Family) in a small part as a secretary. Recommended!
- cdale-41392
- Jan 26, 2019
- Permalink
Six months after the disappearance of one of his employees boss Peter Cable (Charles Cloffi) hires a private investigator John Klute (Donald Sutherland) to investigate his disappearance. However, John's only links to the employees disappearance are some seedy letters and a call-girl Bree Daniel (Jane Fonda) who has a connection to the missing person.
Klute is one of those films that does hook you in at the start (as indeed any good mystery film does), but sadly it's an example of a film where I found myself gradually losing more and more interest as it trundles along. The film is very poorly paced and simply isn't exciting, suspenseful or compelling enough to make it truly stand out from the crowd. The film is OK when it focuses on the mystery, but loses focus far too often with some unnecessary scenes - examples of this include Bree's psychiatry sessions and although they offer insight in to her as a person they also seem to focus on her feelings towards Klute. To me, it would have been better if more time would have been focused on the mystery at hand as opposed to their clichéd and contrived romance.
I note that Jane Fonda won an Oscar here and whilst I don't mean to discredit her (I did think she was very good here), I couldn't help but feel that she perhaps stood out more here because of how poor everyone else was - Donald Sutherland was lifeless here and I'm unsure whether this is his fault or down to how the writers have asked him to portray his character, but either way he was dull. I wasn't expecting a crazy performance here, but I thought that there may have been a bit of a rapport or a bit of chemistry between Sutherland and Fonda, but it just wasn't there and it left the film feeling a bit flat and unfulfilled.
As I've mentioned the mystery element is OK, but it isn't what I'd call compelling or edge of your seat, but it has just about enough going to make it worth watching (although I thought the final act was terrible). The only other really good thing about this film (other than Jane Fonda) was Michael Small's score which did help to create tension and suspense where the script was failing to deliver the same.
Klute is a film that pretty much does everything right, but it always felt like it was doing it in a half-hearted way. Aside from Fonda's performance and Small's score everything else felt rather mediocre and distinctly average across the board.
Klute is one of those films that does hook you in at the start (as indeed any good mystery film does), but sadly it's an example of a film where I found myself gradually losing more and more interest as it trundles along. The film is very poorly paced and simply isn't exciting, suspenseful or compelling enough to make it truly stand out from the crowd. The film is OK when it focuses on the mystery, but loses focus far too often with some unnecessary scenes - examples of this include Bree's psychiatry sessions and although they offer insight in to her as a person they also seem to focus on her feelings towards Klute. To me, it would have been better if more time would have been focused on the mystery at hand as opposed to their clichéd and contrived romance.
I note that Jane Fonda won an Oscar here and whilst I don't mean to discredit her (I did think she was very good here), I couldn't help but feel that she perhaps stood out more here because of how poor everyone else was - Donald Sutherland was lifeless here and I'm unsure whether this is his fault or down to how the writers have asked him to portray his character, but either way he was dull. I wasn't expecting a crazy performance here, but I thought that there may have been a bit of a rapport or a bit of chemistry between Sutherland and Fonda, but it just wasn't there and it left the film feeling a bit flat and unfulfilled.
As I've mentioned the mystery element is OK, but it isn't what I'd call compelling or edge of your seat, but it has just about enough going to make it worth watching (although I thought the final act was terrible). The only other really good thing about this film (other than Jane Fonda) was Michael Small's score which did help to create tension and suspense where the script was failing to deliver the same.
Klute is a film that pretty much does everything right, but it always felt like it was doing it in a half-hearted way. Aside from Fonda's performance and Small's score everything else felt rather mediocre and distinctly average across the board.
- jimbo-53-186511
- Sep 11, 2015
- Permalink
Donald Sutherland plays John Klute, a small town private investigator, whose search for a missing man leads him to a high-priced New York City call-girl named Bree Daniels, played by Jane Fonda. Bree keeps thinking she hears noises and has the feeling someone is following her. This story element combined with spooky music conveys an air of mystery, a sense that an unseen character lurks in the background.
It's an interesting premise. But the story is thin, and the film's payoff at the end is disappointing. The weak story transfers responsibility of entertainment to the two lead characters: Klute and Bree. And with Sutherland's character so reticent and stoic, "Klute" turns out to be mostly a character study of the call-girl, and therefore a cinematic vehicle for Fonda.
Although I'm not convinced she deserved an academy award for her performance, she does do a fine job. But there just isn't that much else to this film. It is very, very slow. Scenes are long and drawn out. Stylistically, "Klute" reminds me of "The Conversation" (1974). The film also is vaguely similar in style to some of Dario Argento's "giallos", minus the horror element, and minus Argento's fantastic cinematography.
Most viewers like this film because of Fonda's performance. And that's certainly a valid criterion. Far fewer people recommend the film for its story or plot. If you are a Jane Fonda fan, "Klute" will be a real treat. If you are looking for a chilling mystery with lots of plot twists, you might want to look elsewhere.
It's an interesting premise. But the story is thin, and the film's payoff at the end is disappointing. The weak story transfers responsibility of entertainment to the two lead characters: Klute and Bree. And with Sutherland's character so reticent and stoic, "Klute" turns out to be mostly a character study of the call-girl, and therefore a cinematic vehicle for Fonda.
Although I'm not convinced she deserved an academy award for her performance, she does do a fine job. But there just isn't that much else to this film. It is very, very slow. Scenes are long and drawn out. Stylistically, "Klute" reminds me of "The Conversation" (1974). The film also is vaguely similar in style to some of Dario Argento's "giallos", minus the horror element, and minus Argento's fantastic cinematography.
Most viewers like this film because of Fonda's performance. And that's certainly a valid criterion. Far fewer people recommend the film for its story or plot. If you are a Jane Fonda fan, "Klute" will be a real treat. If you are looking for a chilling mystery with lots of plot twists, you might want to look elsewhere.
- Lechuguilla
- Apr 22, 2006
- Permalink
A Pennsylvania detective goes to NYC in search of a friend who has disappeared. Sutherland is fine in the title role of a no-nonsense detective who's only clue is that the missing man wrote letters to a NYC prostitute. Fonda is sexy and believable as the call girl, a mesmerizing performance that garnered her her first Oscar. Pakula creates a suspenseful atmosphere, helped by the excellent cinematography and an eerie if repetitive score. Unfortunately, the pacing is too deliberate, with the film nearly coming to a standstill in the middle. Also, after the nice buildup, the denouement is rather disappointing.
The question Klute ultimately asks is can a high priced call girl from Manhattan find happiness with a small town private detective from Tuscarora, Pennsylvania? Of course it asks more than that and probes the human psyche quite a bit.
Though the title role of John Klute the detective is played by Donald Sutherland, the central character is Jane Fonda the call girl. Which begs the question why the film wasn't called Bree. It was her performance as Bree Daniels that got Jane her first Academy Award for Best Actress. That and sympathy from Hollywood for being an avowed member in good standing on Richard Nixon's enemies list.
Despite Nixon and his trashing of the Constitution, I never liked the idea of Jane Fonda broadcasting from Hanoi while our soldiers were fighting in Vietnam. That was taking anti-war protest way too far. But forgetting the politics she gives quite a performance as the psychologically deep and troubled call girl who has a stalker on her hands.
Sutherland as Klute is hired to trace the disappearance of business executive Robert Milli from the main corporate employer in Tuscarora, Pennsylvania. Apparently Milli was leading a double life, on business trips he'd hire call girls and had a tendency to get rough while frolicking. There's a note found threatening one of them and of course it's Jane Fonda.
Fonda is an aspiring actress and model who does this to pay the bills. It's given her quite a cynical attitude on life. It takes a while, but Sutherland kind of grows on her and when he solves the disappearance, he proves to be her benefactor.
Other performance to note are Roy Scheider as her pimp, Rita Gam as the brothel madam and Charles Cioffi the CEO of the company who hires Sutherland to find the missing Milli. Still it's Fonda who dominates the proceedings.
I'm still hoping that Peter Fonda gets a role that will land him an Oscar so we have a father-daughter-son parlay of Oscar winners in one family. Klute as a film has stood the test of time and hasn't aged a bit. It could easily be done today with those awful Seventies fashions replaced by today's.
Though the title role of John Klute the detective is played by Donald Sutherland, the central character is Jane Fonda the call girl. Which begs the question why the film wasn't called Bree. It was her performance as Bree Daniels that got Jane her first Academy Award for Best Actress. That and sympathy from Hollywood for being an avowed member in good standing on Richard Nixon's enemies list.
Despite Nixon and his trashing of the Constitution, I never liked the idea of Jane Fonda broadcasting from Hanoi while our soldiers were fighting in Vietnam. That was taking anti-war protest way too far. But forgetting the politics she gives quite a performance as the psychologically deep and troubled call girl who has a stalker on her hands.
Sutherland as Klute is hired to trace the disappearance of business executive Robert Milli from the main corporate employer in Tuscarora, Pennsylvania. Apparently Milli was leading a double life, on business trips he'd hire call girls and had a tendency to get rough while frolicking. There's a note found threatening one of them and of course it's Jane Fonda.
Fonda is an aspiring actress and model who does this to pay the bills. It's given her quite a cynical attitude on life. It takes a while, but Sutherland kind of grows on her and when he solves the disappearance, he proves to be her benefactor.
Other performance to note are Roy Scheider as her pimp, Rita Gam as the brothel madam and Charles Cioffi the CEO of the company who hires Sutherland to find the missing Milli. Still it's Fonda who dominates the proceedings.
I'm still hoping that Peter Fonda gets a role that will land him an Oscar so we have a father-daughter-son parlay of Oscar winners in one family. Klute as a film has stood the test of time and hasn't aged a bit. It could easily be done today with those awful Seventies fashions replaced by today's.
- bkoganbing
- Jul 1, 2009
- Permalink
Jane Fonda plays Bree Daniels, lonely New York City call girl, who becomes one of the key informants in the investigation surrounding the murder of one of her tricks. Detective John Klute, played by Donald Sutherland, who leads the investigation and gradually wins Bree's trust, ends up as her lover and protector when her life becomes endangered.
"Klute" has a deeply unsettling quality in that hard to define way that characterizes so much of the best film-making from the 1970s. It's a portrait of urban isolation, a popular theme for the time, and it plays like a kind of female version of "Midnight Cowboy." It's worth seeing for the performances of Fonda and Sutherland, who do terrific work as this unlikely romantic pair. But the screenplay leaves something to be desired. Fonda's performance is subtle, but the script too often is more obvious than it needs to be (like a scene with Bree and her therapist where Bree tells her doctor that she continues to trick because she's hooked on the feeling of being in charge....well, duh!) And the ending is especially disappointing, collapsing into a conventional pot-boiler climax that doesn't deliver on the fine character study that preceded it.
Still, a worthwhile viewing experience and yet one more example of why the 70s are considered to be a golden age for challenging cinema.
Grade: B+
"Klute" has a deeply unsettling quality in that hard to define way that characterizes so much of the best film-making from the 1970s. It's a portrait of urban isolation, a popular theme for the time, and it plays like a kind of female version of "Midnight Cowboy." It's worth seeing for the performances of Fonda and Sutherland, who do terrific work as this unlikely romantic pair. But the screenplay leaves something to be desired. Fonda's performance is subtle, but the script too often is more obvious than it needs to be (like a scene with Bree and her therapist where Bree tells her doctor that she continues to trick because she's hooked on the feeling of being in charge....well, duh!) And the ending is especially disappointing, collapsing into a conventional pot-boiler climax that doesn't deliver on the fine character study that preceded it.
Still, a worthwhile viewing experience and yet one more example of why the 70s are considered to be a golden age for challenging cinema.
Grade: B+
- evanston_dad
- Apr 9, 2007
- Permalink
Klute (1971)
Director Alan Pakula's willingness to slow the pace down and let the grimy reality of 1970 New York City creep in is a trademark of this now-classic. The main crime plot itself is a twist on a twist, and in reality isn't much to hang on to, unless you realize right away that the plot is about a relationship, and the detective stuff, in good Hitchcock fashion, is a vehicle for the romance.
But what an original romance this is, and pulled thin and taut, depending equally on Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland, an unlikely pair who, by the end, almost define the feeling of the movie as endlessly incipient. They, too, are always waiting to happen.
Klute is a necessary piece in the bubble of great films of this late 60s early 70s period. Compare its feeling to something like Billy Wilder's The Apartment for how ordinary New York is handled. The fact that Fonda plays a prostitute is another issue altogether, and a sign of America's willingness to have frank and formerly forbidden subjects for their films. Of course, a closer comparison is the 1969 Midnight Cowboy with its own grittiness and prostitution, and Klute holds up pretty well against that more intense and moving breakthrough film by Schlensinger.
This is Pakula's second film, and a long career follows with some great and varied movies, but in a way it gels here, and feels nicely resolved and mature (he is in his 40s when it was made). It's not sensational by any means, a small victory in itself. Very much recommended, a suck you into another milieu kind of film, with more sweetness than you expect.
Director Alan Pakula's willingness to slow the pace down and let the grimy reality of 1970 New York City creep in is a trademark of this now-classic. The main crime plot itself is a twist on a twist, and in reality isn't much to hang on to, unless you realize right away that the plot is about a relationship, and the detective stuff, in good Hitchcock fashion, is a vehicle for the romance.
But what an original romance this is, and pulled thin and taut, depending equally on Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland, an unlikely pair who, by the end, almost define the feeling of the movie as endlessly incipient. They, too, are always waiting to happen.
Klute is a necessary piece in the bubble of great films of this late 60s early 70s period. Compare its feeling to something like Billy Wilder's The Apartment for how ordinary New York is handled. The fact that Fonda plays a prostitute is another issue altogether, and a sign of America's willingness to have frank and formerly forbidden subjects for their films. Of course, a closer comparison is the 1969 Midnight Cowboy with its own grittiness and prostitution, and Klute holds up pretty well against that more intense and moving breakthrough film by Schlensinger.
This is Pakula's second film, and a long career follows with some great and varied movies, but in a way it gels here, and feels nicely resolved and mature (he is in his 40s when it was made). It's not sensational by any means, a small victory in itself. Very much recommended, a suck you into another milieu kind of film, with more sweetness than you expect.
- secondtake
- Nov 3, 2009
- Permalink
- dallas_viewer
- Aug 8, 2019
- Permalink
What an awesome film. A good movie to contrast this with, is the film "Devil's Own". Both were directed by the late, great Alan J. Pakula, but were products of vastly different quality. You couldn't pick up a paper, and not read about how much Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt hated each other, and the end product suffered because of it. You had the core of a good movie torn apart, because the Pitt part, and the Ford part didn't co-exist.
No Such problem with "Klute". Here, all the pieces fit together. Scheider's suave, non-chalant pimp, Sutherland's lonely, enigmatic pseudo-gumshoe, and Fonda's basket case call girl all fit wonderfully. In fact, there are no slackers in this cast. Michael Small's creepy score also deserves mention, as does Pakula's masterful use of gritty, realistic New York City.
It's almost depressing to watch the raw talent at work in films like "Klute". Nowadays, films are so much the result of magazine polling, and the ever-present bottom line. It's true, we still have independent films, but even they are getting co-opted by big money. Still, I suppose there still are the John Sayles' of the world holding out. God bless 'em.
No Such problem with "Klute". Here, all the pieces fit together. Scheider's suave, non-chalant pimp, Sutherland's lonely, enigmatic pseudo-gumshoe, and Fonda's basket case call girl all fit wonderfully. In fact, there are no slackers in this cast. Michael Small's creepy score also deserves mention, as does Pakula's masterful use of gritty, realistic New York City.
It's almost depressing to watch the raw talent at work in films like "Klute". Nowadays, films are so much the result of magazine polling, and the ever-present bottom line. It's true, we still have independent films, but even they are getting co-opted by big money. Still, I suppose there still are the John Sayles' of the world holding out. God bless 'em.
- classicsoncall
- Jul 28, 2015
- Permalink
- seymourblack-1
- Jul 1, 2010
- Permalink
This is easily one of the best films of the 1970's. Jane Fonda gives her deservedly Oscar winning performance as a troubled, introspective prostitute. Her character is made real in a way few other movie roles have been. Donald Sutherland, with his stoic confidence and the quiet, voyeuristic camera work are compelling. The movie is low keyed and intelligent and doesn't resort to the sensationalist, overblown climatic finish that is so common in the mystery thrillers of today. There is an even, measured beat to this work that draws one in, the way a similar hypnotic, brooding piece of music would. I like the way it leaves you with enough loose ends regarding the central characters to keep you wondering and imagining about the course their lives might take from here, as opposed to the common tidy little ending which again is common today. If it's true that directors in Hollywood were being influenced by the European style of film making during this period, this is a true case in point and not to be missed by any true lover of great cinema.