rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 1971
Directed by Alan J. Pakula; produced by Alan J. Pakula; written by Andy Lewis, Dave Lewis
Starring Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Roy Scheider, Dorothy Tristan, Rita Gam
'Klute' is driven by a terrific Jane Fonda, Oscar winning with a reason. Scenes between her appearance are too much driven by plot, admittedly an intriguing one, but when she is onscreen the film takes a pause to watch her doing her thing. Donald Sutherland does a good job in her shadow, keeping the plot go forward. Interesting as it all may seem, the film shows less intelligence near the end and the pay-off itself is disappointing.
If the road leading up to the destination is more important than the destination itself, 'Klute' should be your kind of film. The story is about a missing man, Donald Sutherland as Klute who investigates it, Jane Fonda as callgirl Bree Daniels who might be involved, mainly because to of her callgirl friends, probably linked to the disappearance, are killed. Bree receives phone calls from a man who once beat her up, at least she and Klute thinks it's him.
The relation between Klute and Bree form the center of the film and is more important than the story (or its ending) as well. The flaw in this film comes every time it gets plot-driven, which seems strange in the first place, since there is even time to show Bree's encounters with a therapist. Director Alan J. Pakula could not make up his mind, it seems, whether this film was about plot or character. In the end he makes the wrong choice.
That said, 'Klute' is a good film. Suspense comes from time to time, and the dark atmosphere is really felt by the audience. The score helps here too, and I felt David Fincher took notice before the score for 'The Game' was being produced. Fonda and her character elevate it from being average and by the time the ending arrives we have been satisfied enough.