Two-Lane Blacktop

Year: 1971

Grade: B

Country: USA

Director: Hellman

Review

like vanishing point and easy rider, two-lane blacktop is road movie that explores the theme of post-frontier freedom. easy rider and vanishing point are better films and explore the subject in a more obvious manner, but two-lane blacktop is certainly worthy of watching. i was skeptical of james taylor’s ability at first, but he does a fine job as “the driver.” the rest of the cast (basically just three more people) is also competent. i think there could have been some trimming in the middle of the picture because it does seem to drag a bit, and it doesn’t help round out the characters. usually when a film takes some time out for a breather it’s so that the audience can either reflect on what has just happened or get to know the characters a bit more…neither is necessarily true for the slower parts of this film. that said, it’s not that much of a problem, but a minute here or there can make a difference in pacing. in easy rider and vanishing point we get to know the characters a lot better. some of that is because of the writing and some because of the direction. there was very little exposition in this film relative to easy rider. but vanishing point was able to get by without a lot of exposition because the direction (especially the use of flashbacks) was so good. two-lane blacktop could have learned from those films. actually vanishing point came out the same year, but you get my meaning. the camera keeps its distance throughout most of the time and that’s unfortunate because i would have liked to get to know the characters more. at the same time, i suppose this helps retain the characters as symbols. that said, there isn’t as much of an attempt by the filmmakers to turn the characters into anything more than themselves. not giving them names is a step in that direction, but i didn’t notice much more than that. at any rate, it’s a good film that drags a bit in the middle, but is still compelling and worth checking out.