Klute, pt 3: Fresh Produce, Real Tears, and a Sick Confession

In the first third of Klute (1971) we met the two fascinating central characters, a smart angry prostitute/actress Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda) and a hard-to-read detective John Klute (Donald Sutherland) investigating the disappearance of a man who might have been her client. In the middle of the picture, a volatile romance between the two blossoms just as the speculative danger becomes real. 

part 3 by Mark Brinkerhoff

01:17:20 As we left part two of this retrospective, the body of another of Bree's friends was found. Klute is putting the pieces together and it doesn't look great for Bree, the only one of the three prostitutes involved with the mystery man who is still alive. Boy does the suspense really ratchet up towards the end! So we'll keep this final installment briefer in appreciation of quickening heartbeats...

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Klute, pt 2: Sleazy Pimps, Dead Ends, and Surprising Intimacy

by Ben Miller

In Part 1 of this Klute retrospective (and best shot appreciation) Nathaniel guided us through the introduction of a vague central mystery and soon to be classic film characters in sex worker Bree Daniels and the titular character, John Klute, who is investigating the disapperance of his best friend, who the police believe to be a former client of Bree's. In part two, I'll be guiding you through the middle act.

We pick back up as Bree keeps switching tactics, alternately trying to seduce Klute, turn the tables on him, or rage at him, rather than play dutifully along with his questioning. 

Obviously these retrospectives contain SPOILERS so if you've never seen this classic, head to HBOMax first before continuing...

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Cláudio's Best Shot Pick: Klute (1971)

The next episode in our series, 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot,' arrives Thursday night. This week we're celebrating Alan J. Pakula's seminal Klute with multiple posts. You still have time to participate! In the meantime, here's Cláudio's entry:

"I'm afraid of the dark, " says Bree Daniels, a New York sex worker trying to keep herself from becoming a serial killer's next victim. This confession happens relatively early in a film bearing the name of the taciturn Pennsylvania detective who comes to the Big Apple to investigate his friend's disappearance. He is the man to which she tells of this private fear, not necessarily a gesture of honesty but a weaponizing of her vulnerability. As ever, Bree wants control of the situation, and to bear herself naked is often the key to such dominance. Nakedness, of course, can come from truth rather than bared flesh. Watching Klute, one gets the sense that Bree is truly afraid of the dark, even though that very darkness is the poisonous womb within which she exists at all time, like an unborn babe striving for the light of birth while keeping itself smothered in the comfort of shadow…

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot: Fire Island (2022)

by Nathaniel R

It did occur to us that a visual series stopping to center on a new rom-com would be a risk. The romantic comedy genre doesn't tend to scream "visually interesting!" (though obviously it can be). But we knew most of our readership would be watching so... why not? As it turns out, though, with a true filmmaker at the helm (Andrew Ahn of Spa Night and Driveways) it wasn't a risk at all as a Best Shot discussion. Fire Island isn't just funny -- the "Heads Up" game scene snapped above is only one of many hilarious bits in the excellent screenplay from Joel Kim Booster -- but a real movie-movie, too. In short, it's one of the year's best films and we are blessed to have it.

While you'd probably prefer a "ten funniest moments" or "five sexiest guys" list -- hey, we can do those too if this gets engagement -- the visuals are more than worth discussing! Conversations about visual storytelling are ironically in short supply on the internet whenever movies are discussed. The focus is always on acting/casting and screenplay/messaging. And there's a LOT to say about those of course but the internet is already handling that so we're here to talk visuals. Here are the three overall smartest choices director Andrew Ahn,  cinematographer Felipe Vara de Rey, and editor Brian A Kates make in telling this particular story...

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Cláudio's Best Shot Pick: Fire Island (2022)

The next episode in our series, 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot,' arrives Thursday night. This week's film is Andrew Ahn's Fire Island, which recently premiered on Hulu. You still have time to participate! In the meantime, here's Cláudio's entry:

For the past decade or so, numerous filmmakers have tried to revive the romantic comedy with varying degrees of success. And yet, it seems that the romcom's heyday will never return. Still, there's plenty of nostalgia for those days gone by when mid-budget projects of this ilk were a mainstay of any studio's output. Nowadays, every such exercise feels like an exception to the rule, a precious rarity, and a throwback. Maybe that's why the modern romcom refuses to stick, as it often comes off as a retrospective homage rather than its own thing. Or else it's too focused on justifying its existence, wanting to appear cool and hip with such alarming vehemence it ends up forgetting the basics that make these movies work.

By centering identities rarely depicted in mainstream cinema, appealing to classic literature tropes, and getting a director with a strong point of view, Fire Island avoids most of these pitfalls. It succeeds where others have stumbled, and even if it doesn't revive the romcom's Golden Age, it's pleasant summer entertainment…

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