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On the Waterfront
Much has been made of Marlon Brando’s famous, career-making speech in On the Waterfront, in which his character, Terry Malloy, sadly tells his brother, “I coulda’ had class. I coulda’ been a contender. I coulda’ been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.” This is undoubtedly the most heart-wrenching speech in the film, given by a simple-minded grunt who has been following the mob’s rules for so long that he doesn’t know much of anything else. With this speech, he finally comes around and chooses to never be a bum again. This is a remarkable speech, to be sure, and while it might sum up the journey that Terry Malloy takes, I’m not sure that it sums up the movie itself, which is an uncomplicated and by now routine essay against mob control, corruption, and screwing with the sanctity of unions. Terry’s earlier, shorter speech to a distraught woman searching for the truth behind her brother’s murder is a bit more to the film’s point: “Quit worrying about truth and start worrying about staying alive.” The balance between these two ideas, and the victory of the former, is the true topic of Elia Kazan’s stirring character drama (inspired in part by Kazan's own struggles to testify against colleagues in the Communist party, but let's not open up that wound). The woman who Terry implores is Edie Doyle (Eva Marie Saint), whose brother Jimmy was killed the night before he was supposed to testify about the mob’s crooked business in the shipyards. Edie knows the truth, and so does Terry—in fact, he was ordered by the mob to coax Jimmy out of his apartment on the night he was killed, though he was unaware of their murderous intentions. Jimmy’s death, however, serves as a reminder that the dock workers need to fall in line and do what they’re told if they want to stay alive and keep their jobs. Terry has learned this lesson the hard way. He was a talented boxer making his way to the top before his crooked brother Charley (Rod Steiger), an accountant for mob boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb), forced him to get a K.O. for the sake of a bet. Since then, Terry has been, at his own admittance, “a bum,” scrounging around doing small services for Friendly in order to make a living. With the entrance of Edie and local priest Father Barry (Karl Malden) into his life, however, he is forced to reexamine his nature and his friends, especially after he realizes that he has fallen for Edie. No, I’m not revealing too much—of course Terry falls for Edie. And of course his life becomes threatened by the mob once he considers testifying against them. Of course there is a climactic showdown on the waterfront between the workers, led by Terry, and the mob. Kazan made his film nearly twenty years before The Godfather defined (and immortalized) standard mob clichés and made us sympathetic to them, and so On the Waterfront is a pretty straightforward, black-and-white picture. The chief characters are nearly colorless in their convictions: Edie and Father Barry are persons of complete, moral goodness—they stand against evil and do not fear the consequences. Friendly and his cohorts are totally evil, corrupt, and devoid of any human tenderness. The middle ground between these two extremes is found in the Malloy brothers: As Terry questions his loyalty, Charley is forced to question his own, and the choices that they make will direct affect both good and evil sides, as well as the oppressed waterfront workers who have fallen in line and given into the mob’s wishes. Each brother must face the consequences of their actions in the past, as well as the results of their ultimate decisions concerning the mob. It is in the scenes between these brothers that On the Waterfront truly comes to life and finds an acceptable balance between the standard good versus evil story. In the face of standard crime film that the likes of On the Waterfront helped to invent, most of what is here seems fairly straightforward and by-the-numbers. It was fresh at the time, but today, it has been so often copied and ripped off that there seems little new here. That said, there is no denying the power of the moments between Terry and Charley, and their scenes together remain fresh, honest, and very moving. It is impossible to write a review for On the Waterfront without mentioning the superb performance by Marlon Brando. This was his second film for Elia Kazan, and it won him a much deserved Best Actor Oscar. Their previous film together was A Streetcar Named Desire, in which Kazan insisted would be the beginning of the career of the greatest actor in film history. The insightful director turned out to be quite correct. Kazan gives Brando the complete freedom of getting lost in this character, and the actor embodies Terry Malloy so flawlessly that you often don’t even notice. Like the film itself, Brando’s style and energy has been replicated by so many different actors that it hardly seems new, but this only proves his brilliance as an artist. This is not Marlon Brando that we’re watching. It is Terry Malloy. With these early Kazan roles, Brando redefined acting by introducing the “Method” approach, in which an actor connects with the character in so such length that he quite literally becomes him. People who watch On the Waterfront expecting a “stirring” performance along the lines of Olivier need only look as far as Karl Malden, who gives a strong presentation as the courageous waterfront priest. But there is a key difference between Malden and Brando’s talents: When we listen to Malden’s sermons, we see an actor performing a role with stirring conviction. When we watch Brando shuffle down the street, his hands buried in his windbreaker and his face to the ground, we see a cold man trying to get away from the night’s chill and collect his jumbled thoughts. It is less of a performance and more of an embodiment. Because method acting is so common today—a style practiced by DeNiro, Pacino, Hoffman, Depp, and countless others—you’ll hardly notice Brando’s visionary flair. But pay attention to his acting, and compare it to the other performances. While they speak their lines and look concerned, troubled, etc., he fiddles with his gloves, or sips at his beer, or scratches his scarred eyebrow. He has traveled so deeply into Terry’s personality that he has brought into the limelight little personality quirks that most actors never dreamed of considering before Brando came around. He has quite literally become Terry Malloy, and he exists as if the camera just happens to be filming his life. Adjusted to its time, On the Waterfront is a great film, with a poignant message and terrific performances. Today, it is a little more conventional, but still effective due to some fine emotionally charged moments and Brando’s Terry Malloy. Because of its benchmark in motion picture history for Brando, it is certainly worthy of its praise and high ranking. Cast: A Columbia Pictures release. Directed by Elia Kazan. Written by Budd Schulberg. Based on articles written by Malcolm Johnson. No M.P.A.A. rating, but around the PG-area for a few violent moments. Running time: 108 minutes. Original United States theatrical release date: July 28, 1954. Questions? Comments? E-mail me: danel_the_tinman@hotmail.com |
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