I was fortunate enough to see "Straight Time" when it was released, and it has always surprised me that such a well-acted movie could have become so obscure. Watching it again, I could see how the film could be considered off-putting due to a protagonist it is hard to root for, but I gained an even greater appreciation for the fine work a great cast put into it.
Giving one of his finest performances, Dustin Hoffman excels as an ex-con who, despite his best efforts, can not adjust to life as a parolee. He seethes at a world in which he is now guilty until proven innocent, and after a humiliating confrontation with his parole officer (M. Emmett Walsh, also excellent) he finds himself on the lam again. His girlfriend (Therese Russell, in her best performance) helps him to find work but it is not long before he is in the company of the cons and criminals of his past (Gary Busey and Harry Dean Stanton, both terrific) and he is now more detrimental to them than they are to him. That's young Jake Busey as Gary's son and Kathy Bates as the wife who tries to keep him out of trouble. Her fully realized performance is well in keeping with the great work we've come to expect from this fine actress.
But this is Hoffman's show all the way - he was in fact originally slated to direct. For most of the film, all traces of his physical and vocal mannerisms disappear as he sinks into the skin of an underprivileged felon who has taken too many wrong turns. We easily forget the difference in their sizes as we watch his final confrontation with Busey. Most impressively, this performance neither asks for our sympathy nor demands our judgement. Though many of his performances are among the finest ever put on film, the understated and un-theatrical quality of his work here is more along the lines of Hackman and Duvall at their very best. He more than proves himself their peer, and the film deserves to be rediscovered so this great performance can be more fully appreciated.
Giving one of his finest performances, Dustin Hoffman excels as an ex-con who, despite his best efforts, can not adjust to life as a parolee. He seethes at a world in which he is now guilty until proven innocent, and after a humiliating confrontation with his parole officer (M. Emmett Walsh, also excellent) he finds himself on the lam again. His girlfriend (Therese Russell, in her best performance) helps him to find work but it is not long before he is in the company of the cons and criminals of his past (Gary Busey and Harry Dean Stanton, both terrific) and he is now more detrimental to them than they are to him. That's young Jake Busey as Gary's son and Kathy Bates as the wife who tries to keep him out of trouble. Her fully realized performance is well in keeping with the great work we've come to expect from this fine actress.
But this is Hoffman's show all the way - he was in fact originally slated to direct. For most of the film, all traces of his physical and vocal mannerisms disappear as he sinks into the skin of an underprivileged felon who has taken too many wrong turns. We easily forget the difference in their sizes as we watch his final confrontation with Busey. Most impressively, this performance neither asks for our sympathy nor demands our judgement. Though many of his performances are among the finest ever put on film, the understated and un-theatrical quality of his work here is more along the lines of Hackman and Duvall at their very best. He more than proves himself their peer, and the film deserves to be rediscovered so this great performance can be more fully appreciated.