ON THE WATERFRONT

What could possibly be said about this film that hasn't already? 


Who else could possibly contribute to the canon of film wisdom already dedicated to this masterpiece?


Not I really.


So, instead of a careful and painfully detailed synopsis of On the Waterfront, i'll just tell you what I thought......


It's fucking astounding cinema.
Seriously.
If every film were a zodiac sign, this would surely be a Taurus. 
Strong, stubborn, proud, bursting with good intention. 
Often questioning ones own moral and intellectual character. 
If this film were a car it would be a hard working Ford Pick-up, rusted but valuable.


You think I'm being flippant with this, but trust me I'm not. I often identify art in terms of a relative comparison.


Brando dances on film, his spirit, his expression, his voice. 
He moves on film like no one I've witnessed, perhaps touches of James Dean and Paul Newman et al, but they all express that same NYC school of brutal realism. 
But where Dean possesses an underlying sadness, Brando seems angry, which makes him just that bit more intense than the rest of them and perhaps it's what lies underneath that hints at that aura. An undeniable nonchalance that's brooding and incredibly attractive.


And then there's that dialogue, ya know, the line within that monologue towards the end:
"You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. It was you, Charley."
 You've heard it a million times before, seen it worshipped at award ceremonies for decades, sat through a tonne of poorly impersonations. But to finally see it within the context of the film, to watch him react to his brother Charlie's sly admission of lowly character is something special.


When you watch a film like On the Waterfront, you have to feel very grateful.
Grateful that you are privy to view such artistic beauty within the confines of your own home.
Grateful that at that particular point in film culture someone with enough balls and savvy wrote a script that challenged certain ideals of the time and then you have to be grateful knowing that a team of only the most perfect human beings capable of expressing that sentiment were around at that very moment to contribute to what essentially becomes one of the greatest films of our time.


I am indeed more than grateful to have seen it!